Thursday, October 29, 2009

MORE ON THE BEIT SHEARIM CAVES:
93-year-old architect claims he discovered the Beit Shearim caves, not Alexander Zaid
By Eli Ashkenazi (Haaretz)

A leading interior architect and exhibition designer claims he discovered the burial caves at the ancient necropolis in Beit Shearim 73 years ago, not the famed watchman Alexander Zaid.

[...]

"It was Purim 1936. Three of us went for a hike and entered a large deserted cave, which the Arabs used to keep goats in," Maron, 93, said yesterday.

He says he threw a stone at a wall in the cave and heard an echo, indicating a hollow behind it.

"I looked for an opening in the wall, and entered a cave containing sarcophagi, whose walls were inscribed with drawings and Menorahs," he said.

[...]
Background here.