Believe it or not, we are still on day one of the tour. We had action-packed days for most of the tour. Day one offered some really interesting new treats.
Dovecotes
As you may be aware, at the temple in Jerusalem, if one could not afford to offer a lamb or goat, one could often offer a bird such as a turtledove or pigeon instead. The birds had to be raised in a way that would make them acceptable for offering in the temple. The place for doing so would naturally need to be within a reasonable distance from Jerusalem to allow travel there without risk of birds dying. Not far from tel Beit Shemesh and tel She’ayarim, there is a dovecote that dates to the first temple period. It was carved out of the soft limestone found in the area. It is visually quite a lovely place. Quite off the beaten path for big buses I would think, but worth a visit if you can.
First Century Burial
It is always helpful to find places and things intact in a way that allows a better understanding of scripture. First century burial sites can give good insight into how Yeshua (Jesus) would have been buried, i.e. the type of tomb into which his body would have been laid and how those visiting the tomb after the resurrection would have viewed the tomb area. Not far from the dovecote described above, is an example of the first century burial tomb of a wealthy person. It was carved into the rock which was common, it had slot tombs, which was also common, and it had an entrance area with bench seating for those visiting the graves.
Rooted and Grounded 