Welcome to Bet Shearim, the Unesco World Heritage site in the north of Israel. Located in the lower Galilee, between Haifa and Nazareth, this place was accidentally found by an immigrant from the Russian Empire. Bet Shearim happens to be one of the most ancient and extensive Jewish burial sites in the world. Hundreds of tombs in around twenty burial grounds or catacombs in the caves have been uncovered to this day. 

The elaborate tombs look much different from typical Jewish burials. It was one of the most sacred places in the ancient Jewish world. Just next to the catacombs, one can find a natural cave that was once made into a large cistern for storing water. Again, accidentally, a huge smooth rectangular slab of a mysterious origin was found in that cave. 

To this day, the archeologists have more questions than answers. How was this giant cemetery in the caves founded. Where did those Jews come from? Where did they go? What did they do? And what is that rectangular slab?… 

Let’s try to find some answers together. 

The footage for this tour has been pre-recorded for a number of reasons: the site is two hours drive one way from where I live. It closes at 4 pm local time. It’s inside the caves – it provides zero connectivity even outside the caves.