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Boaz Zissu

“The small town of Caphetra,” which lies in the low hills of the Judean Shepelah, was violently destroyed during the First Jewish Revolt (66–70 C.E.), rebuilt and destroyed again at the end of the Second Jewish Revolt (the Bar-Kokhba Revolt) in 135 C.E. Its excavation has left us with a unique glimpse into life in the Jewish countryside. Almost 5 acres, the village had a synagogue, stables, ritual baths, burial caves and evidence of horticulture and viticulture. Partially destroyed during the First Jewish Revolt against Rome, it was rebuilt, possibly by returning villagers who constructed secret hiding chambers where they took refuge from the onslaught of the Roman legion during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt.