Bet Shearim - Necropolis

After the statue of Alexander Zaid the access road to Bet Shearim takes a sharp bend to the right and comes to the entrance to the site and the ticket kiosk. There is a parking lot inside the National Park. The necropolis consists of a series of catacombs hewn from the rock on the hillside, each containing between 20 and 400 tombs. The catacombs had all been robbed, and the excavators found neither human remains nor grave goods.

The sarcophagi, mostly of the local limestone, are decorated with Jewish symbols (seven-branched candlesticks, Torah shrines, etc.) but also with figures of human beings and animals. The carving shows no great artistic skill. Many of the catacombs have a stone doorway preceded by an open forecourt. Of the 26 catacombs so far discovered there are usually only two open to visitors, including No. 20, the largest of them all.