Hurvat Itri, Archaeological site in Judean Lowlands, Israel.
Hurvat Itri is an excavated ancient Jewish village site in the Judean Lowlands with a synagogue foundation, wine presses, storage cisterns, and ritual baths from the Second Temple period. The grounds reveal the ruins of homes and other structures arranged in a settled layout that visitors can explore on foot.
The settlement was destroyed during the First Jewish-Roman War around 69 CE and faced further devastation during the Bar Kokhba revolt. Archaeological evidence including discovered mass graves documents the violence that accompanied these conflicts.
The multiple ritual baths and synagogue here show how important religious practice was to daily life in this ancient community. These structures reveal a village where religious rules shaped the way people lived and gathered together.
The site sits 35 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem within a designated park and features marked walking paths to guide exploration. Good footwear and adequate time are useful for moving between the different excavated areas comfortably.
The site contains an extensive network of underground shelter chambers that residents dug to use during conflicts, with some rooms remaining untouched since ancient times. These hidden spaces reveal how people developed survival strategies within their settlement.
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