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Ancient Maresha (Tell Sandahannah)
Bet Guvrin -- Roman Eleutheropolis

Yet will I bring an heir unto thee O inhabitant
of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the
glory of Israel --
Micah 1:15

Excerpt: Antiquities of the Jews

Tell Sandahannah is located circa 1.5 kilometers south of Bet Guvrin and has been identified as the site of ancient Maresha on the bases of biblical references and the writings of Eusebius of Caesarea and Flavius Josephus ...

This identification has since been confirmed by modern excavations. Ancient Maresha occupied the (1)high mound -- a (2)lower city with ancillary cave complexes -- and a (3)necropolis which encompassed the entire site of Tell Sandahannah ...

The earliest written record of Maresha was as a city in ancient Judah. After the destruction of the First Temple the city of Maresha became part of the Edomite Kingdom. In the late Persian Period a Sidonian community settled in Maresha and the city is mentioned in the Zenon Papyri (259 BC). During the Hasmonean wars Maresha was a base for attacks against Judea and eventually suffered retaliation from the Maccabees. After John Hyrcanus I captured and destroyed Maresha in 113 BC the region of Idumea (Edom) remained under Hasmonean control. In 40 BC the Parthians devastated completely the city after which it was never rebuilt ...

The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium