Ancient Bar Kokhba revolt-era hiding tunnels, Byzantine church reopened to public in Israel

An archaeological complex featuring an ancient Byzantine church and underground tunnels used by ancient Jewish rebels hiding from the Romans was inaugurated last week at Horvat Burgin in Adullam–France Park (Parc de France-Adoulam).The opening ceremony was held jointly by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), and the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, following extensive excavation, conservation, and development work to make the area accessible to the public.Previous excavations at the site, conducted by the IAA's Theft Prevention Unit Director Dr. Amir Ganor, Alon Klein, and Dr. Peter Gendelman of the IAA, revealed evidence of a large Second Temple settlement that existed up through the Ottoman period. Researchers have proposed the settlement is that of Kfar Bish, a 1st century settlement mentioned first in the writings of Flavius Josephus. In the early Roman period, those living in the settlement carved an extensive network of hiding tunnels into the bedrock in preparation for conflict. The settlement was eventually besieged by the Romans and destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 CE).According to Josephus, its surrounding wall was very strong and as such, the Roman's expected the siege to last a long time, but the settlement's inhabitants unexpectedly surrendered and surrendered themselves.A pagan population subsequently settled amongst the ruins of the Jewish settlement, constructing new buildings above ground and…