Welcome to Itri Ruins (Horvat ‘Ethri)
The easiest way to orient yourself to the map is to find the synagogue on the maps below and then determine where you are relative to the synagogue.
Click the blue dots on the image below for more information.
Enjoy your exploration of this fascinating Second Temple Village!
Public Building
A public building identified as a Synagogue.
It was built between the Great War and the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
When a person enters, they are facing Jerusalem.
Entrance to hiding complex
This was the location of the silver half shekel, some finds from the Jewish War and many artifacts from the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
Entrance to cistern
Hundreds of broken jars and cooking pots characteristic of the first century BCE.
Entrance to Mass Burial Mikvah
The skulls and bones of twelve individuals were found in this Mikvah. They included seven adults including men and women, four adolescents, and one fetus. At least one of the individuals had been beheaded.
Inner Court
רחובה של עיר
Hellenistic walls integrated into later structure
Rooms used as defense tower
Roman burial cave
Entrance to Hasmonean Mikvah
Artist’s Rendition of the Village:
Map of Underground Systems:
Thank you to Boaz Zissu for his permission to use the artist’s sketch used to illustrate what the village may have looked like. That sketch was originally included in his article, Horvat ‘Ethri—A Jewish Village from the Second Temple Period and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in the Judean Foothills, appearing in the Journal of Jewish Studies, VOL. LX, NO. 1, SPRING 2009.