Hurvat Itry

We set out early this morning as usual. The sun is rising later and so it was just light when we left home. I read about the Hurvat Itry (the Itri Ruins) in the local paper this week and decided we should pay it a visit. The article in the paper made it sound like it was quite difficult to find, but actually it is way better signposted than many of the more famous sites we have visited.

Itry was a wealthy Jewish settlement at the time of the Second Temple. It lies in the Adulam Caves Park park near of the Ella Valley Wineries. No one really knows the name of the original settlement, but during excavation an ostracon (a shard of pottery with writing used in the old days as a post-it note) with the name Itry was uncovered. It could be "Kfar Atra". which was destroyed by the Romans in 69 CE. It's definitely a Jewish settlement because there are three Mikvas (ritual baths).

The settlement was rebuilt after this initial destruction by the Romans. It appears that at the time of the Bar Kochba Rebellion (132 CE) a whole lot of hiding tunnels were dug and a cistern were dug. The village was obviously well involved in the wine trade as a large press was uncovered on the site.

It was nice to not have to travel too far. The Ella Valley is near Beit Shemesh, a mere hour way. The sun was still low when we arrived. We made our coffee and ate our breakfast (Juchnun for the boy a dry pita for me).
It's funny how these small sites, with no entrance fee, guards, Parks department or anything, have been nicely restored and are well signposted.
The hiding areas used during the revolt were cool. The boy likes to go underground. I, myself, prefer the open air, if you don't mind.
This is one of the store rooms it would seem.
Very nice walls. I think it would probably have been a good place to live.
This is one of the mikvas. I am not sure I would have wanted to bathe in there.
In the distance is the West Bank. There are views of the rolling hills from each side.
This is the famous wine press. They were able to produce between 3000-4000 liters of wine each filling of the press. That's a lot of juice. You can see the cyclists in the distance. The site was crawling with sweaty men shouting "Hey Achi" and congratulating each other on making it up the hill. This part of the country is bikers paradise it seems. They were everywhere. They looked at us like we were nuts. Who would want to actually look at these ruins when you can ride up and down mountains?
The boy found this tunnel that he crawled into. It went down a long and cramped way into the dark. He hear a hiss near his ear, and reversed out very quickly. He was impressed with all the tunnels. Rather him than me.

Nice place. It's free and not too far.