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IDENTIFICATION AND HISTORY

Betar (Khirbet el-Yahud) is situated southwest of Jerusalem near the Arab village of Bittir, its northern side flanking the Rephaim Valley. The Roman road from Jerusalem to Gaza passed in the valley to the north of the site. Betar is surrounded by deep valleys on all sides except the southern, where a topographical saddle connects it to the hill to the south. The approach to the settlement must have been from this side. The main source of water is a spring located to the east of the site.

Khirbet el-Yahud is unanimously identified with Betar, the last stronghold of the Second Jewish Revolt (132–135 CE) against the Romans, where its leader, Bar-Kokhba, found his death in 135 CE. The ancient name was preserved in the name of the Arab village Bittir, and the Arab name of the site—Khirbet el-Yahud, that is, “ruin of the Jews”—keeps the memory of the Second Revolt. The identification is supported by the results of the surveys and the excavations.

Betar is first mentioned in the list of places in Jos. 15 in the Bethlehem district; the name was preserved solely in the Septuagint (verse 59a—Βαιθηρ). The Roman siege of Betar in 135 CE, the conquest of the settlement, and the slaughter of the besieged, including Bar-Kokhba, which put an end to the Second Revolt, is mentioned in both Jewish and Roman sources, namely the Talmud and the Midrash, and Eusebius (third–fourth centuries CE), in his book on the history of the church.

EXPLORATION AND EXCAVATIONS

The surface remains and traces of the Roman siege works have been examined several times since the nineteenth century. Scholarly interest focused on two problems: first, whether this site is indeed the last stronghold of Bar-Kokhba as described in the written sources; and second, assuming that this is Betar, what can be learnt from these remains about the Second Revolt and its final days.

In 1863, V. Guérin visited Khirbet el-Yahud and suggested its identification with Betar. C. Clermont-Ganneau visited the site in order to examine the rock-cut Latin inscription near the spring and supported this identification. J. Germer-Durand also studied the inscription and published a milestone found along the Roman road extending in the Rephaim Valley. E. Zickermann was the first to survey the site in 1906. In 1923, W. D. Carroll conducted a systematic survey and published a detailed plan of the site. A. Alt called attention to the Roman siege works surrounding Betar, which were then investigated by A. Schulten. In 1950, A. Reifenberg identified in an aerial photograph two Roman camps situated to the south of the site. During 1944–1946, S. Yeivin surveyed Khirbet el-Yahud, and various remains were photographed at that time by J. Schweig. In 1968, M. Kochavi conducted a survey of the Judean Hills and identified additional settlements and forts from the period of the Second Revolt in the region. Finally, a number of aerial photographs of the site and its region were published by D. Kennedy and D. Riley.

During the 1970s, Z. Yeivin conducted soundings at Betar, but the results remain unpublished. In 1984, D. Ussishkin directed a trial excavation under the auspices of the Staff Officer for Archaeology in Judea and Samaria. Excavations were carried out in two areas located at the southern and western edges of the site; in both of them the fortifications were studied.

EXCAVATION AND SURVEY RESULTS

THE EARLIER PERIODS. Iron Age I–II pottery was found in the surveys. Some Iron Age IIB–C pottery was retrieved in the fills supporting the wall built during the Second Jewish Revolt, including a storage jar handle bearing a two-winged lamelekh seal impression. Pottery from the Persian, Hellenistic, and Early Roman periods was unearthed in the surveys, and several Hellenistic coins were recovered in the excavations. It thus seems that Betar was continuously settled from the Iron Age I until the Roman period and that a settlement of some importance existed there during the later part of the Judahite monarchy.

THE EARLY ROMAN PERIOD. Wall segments built of ashlars, one of them with ashlars dressed in characteristic Roman-Herodian style with a central boss and drafted margins, were incorporated into the later fortifications built during the Second Jewish Revolt. These remains and the pottery indicate that a settlement of some significance existed there prior to the revolt.

The line of the fortification wall, apparently dating to the time of the Second Revolt, is visible along most of the site and was studied in the surveys and excavations. The northern part of the summit, which was not settled, was left outside the walled area. The city wall was built as a retaining wall, its lower part supported by a fill on the inside, thus resembling a terrace on the hilly slope. It contained several semi-circular buttresses, and at least one rectangular buttress or tower on the western side. Earlier wall segments, some built of ashlars in Roman-Herodian style, were incorporated in the wall. Apparently put up hastily, the wall was carelessly and inconsistently constructed.

Zickermann, Carroll, and Yeivin suggested that a moat was constructed across the saddle at the southern end of the site, from which approach to the site was the easiest, but this seems unlikely. Nevertheless, the southern end of the site was well fortified. The ground here was elevated by the dumping of an artificial fill made of earth and limestone chips, which also supported the wall, turning the southern edge into the highest point on the summit of the site.

The pottery indicates that the site was settled no later than the first and second centuries CE. Many sling-stones were recovered in the excavations and on the surface, a concentration of 22 from atop the rectangular tower on the western side. Two iron arrowheads of the Second Revolt type, familiar from the Judean Desert caves, were discovered on the semi-circular buttress at the southern end of the site.

THE SIEGE SYSTEM. The Roman siege wall, built of fieldstones, was preserved along the western, northern, and part of the eastern side of the site. The wall crossed the Rephaim Valley and extended along its northern slope. It is probable that on the eastern side, it passed between Betar and the spring, thus cutting off the access of the besieged to their main water source. Two Roman army camps were built to the south of the site. Other remains possibly associated with the siege were surveyed in the region. A Latin inscription was carved in a rock near the spring by units of the Roman army stationed near the spring, apparently at the time of the siege.

Yeivin suggested that the long narrow heap of stones dumped in the saddle against the southern slope of the site and reaching halfway up the slope is the Roman siege ramp. However, in recent years when this structure was damaged by the construction of a house of the Arab village, it was revealed to be a heap of stones dumped in recent times along the border between two agricultural plots.

SUMMARY: THE SECOND JEWISH REVOLT

During the Early Roman period Betar was a modest settlement located near the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. It contained public buildings constructed of ashlars. It is possible that some fortifications were built at that time, but not a circumvallating wall. With the outbreak of the Second Jewish Revolt, Bar-Kokhba chose Betar as his headquarters for the following reasons: its proximity to Jerusalem and to the main route from Jerusalem to Gaza, its abundant spring, and its location atop a hill surrounded by deep valleys.

The main objective of the Roman army in conquering Betar was to eliminate Bar-Kokhba and his men, rather than conquer the place itself. Two camps were built to the south of Betar, where the approach to the settlement was relatively easy, and a siege wall was erected around the site. Roman units stationed near the spring carved an inscription in the rock there. To prepare for the impending Roman attack, Bar-Kokhba hurriedly constructed a fortification wall around the settlement. This wall was partly founded on already existing buildings and fortifications. Specific attention was devoted to strengthening the southeastern side, where the approach was easiest, but the northern, uninhabited part of the summit was left outside the wall.

Little is known of the battle itself. The Roman army stormed Betar without a ramp. The defenders made extensive use of sling-stones, which were hurriedly hewn on the spot, and the battle was over before all the sling-stones made ready on top of the wall were fired. After the conquest Betar was destroyed and abandoned.

DAVID USSISHKIN

Main publication: F. Lebrecht, Bethar: Die fragliche Stadt im Hadrianisch-Jüdischen Kriege. Ein 1700 Jähriges Missverständniss. Beitrag zur Geschichte und Geographie des Alten Palästina mit historischen Beilagen in hebräischer Sprache, Berlin 1877.

Studies: V. Guérin, Description géographique, historique et archéologique de la Palestine, Judée, Paris 1869, 387–395; J. Germer-Durand, RB 3 (1894), 613–614; C. Clermont-Ganneau, Archaeological Researches in Palestine, 1, London 1896, 463–470; E. Zickermann, ZDPV 29 (1906), 51–71; W. D. Carroll, AASOR 5 (1925), 77–103; A. Alt, Palästinajahrbuch 23 (1927), 11–16; H. Strathmann, ibid., 92–123; A. Schulten, ZDPV 56 (1933), 180–185; A. Reifenberg, Archaeology 3 (1950), 41–42; S. Yeivin, The War of Bar-Kochba, 2nd rev. ed., Jerusalem 1952; Y. Yadin, Bar Kokhba: The Rediscovery of the Legendary Hero of the Last Jewish Revolt Against Imperial Rome, London 1971; Judaea, Samaria and the Golan: Archaeological Survey 1967–1968 (The Archaeological Survey of Israel; ed. M. Kochavi), Jerusalem 1972, 24–25; W. J. Fulco, Orientalia 47 (1978), 265; H. -D. Neef, ZDPV 97 (1981), 74–80; D. Ussishkin, BAIAS 6 (1986–1987), 49–50; id., EI 23 (1992), 155*; id., TA 20 (1993), 66–97; S. Applebaum, ZDPV 103 (1987), 137–140; D. Kennedy & D. Riley, Rome’s Desert Frontier from the Air, London 1990, 100–104; D. Amit, ESI 10 (1991), 147–148; K. Singer, TA 20 (1993), 98–103; M. Azaryahu & A. Kellerman, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 24 (1999), 109–123; G. Davies, Anatolian Studies 50 (2000), 151–158.