Adullam Grove Nature Reserve ( he, שמורת טבע חורש עדולם) is a nature reserve in central

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, south of

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city w ...

, managed by the

Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority The Israel Nature and Parks Authority ( he, רשות הטבע והגנים ''Rashut Hateva Vehaganim''; ar, سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, ...

. The park is full with archaeological sites, including a number of ruins of rural villages with findings from the late

Second Temple period The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...

and the

Jewish–Roman wars The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of the Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) were nation ...

, Byzantine-period Christian churches, as well as remains from earlier and later times.

Nature reserve

The reserve was established in 1994, covering and was extended to include another in 2004. The reserve was declared in order to protect

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

that grow naturally in the area. PikiWiki Israel 12061 Colombarium cave in Hirbat Midras

Archaeology

Horvat Midras (Hebrew) or Khirbet Midras (Arabic), sometimes spelled Madras, dated to the 10th century BCE until approximately the 4th century CE, is located within the boundaries of the reserve. Burial caves, hiding tunnels and caves used during the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...

in 132-135 CE, a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''col ...

, and a burial pyramid were discovered at the site. Horvat 'Ethri - remains of a partially restored Jewish village from the

and the

, containing mikvehs, a synagogue,

wine presses A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts contro ...

, and burial caves. Hurvat Borgyn - remains of a 2nd-century CE settlement, including fortifications, wells, burial caves, a wine press, and other agriculture oriented finds. Hurvat Lavnin (Kh. Tell el-Beida) - remains of an ancient settlement, Potsherds and coins discovered indicate that it was inhabited from the Iron Age through the early Roman period, the Bar Kokhba revolt and the Byzantine period. The site features four hiding complexes typical of early Roman period

Judaea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous south ...

, as well as burial caves dating from the Late Bronze and Iron Ages.

Flora and fauna

Flora include

Buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found t ...

trees (''Rhamnus palaestinus''),

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

trees, Greek Strawberry trees,

Pistacia lentiscus ''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus '' Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek isl ...

trees, and various types of ''

Cistus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean regio ...

'' and Hyssop.

References

External links

profile on The Israel Nature and Parks Authority website
{{Villages destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt Nature reserves in Israel Protected areas of Central District (Israel)

Nature reserve

Archaeology

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links