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Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=28637
Bar Kokhba-Era Antiquities Site Razed by Palestinian Vandals
(Israel Hayom) Efrat Forsher - An antiquities site that served as an encampment for Jewish leader Shimon Bar Kokhba during his revolt against the Romans from 132 to 136 CE has been destroyed by Palestinian vandals. The Kiryat Arabia site is located near the Arab village of al-Arub in Gush Etzion in the West Bank. In 1968, a winding, branching cave was discovered at the site, one of the caves where Bar Kokhba hid. The cave was originally dug beneath the ancient community of Kiryat Arabia, which is mentioned in scrolls found at Nahal Hever in the Judean Desert. The scrolls include military correspondence between Bar Kokhba and his fighters. The Kfar Etzion Field School recently resumed trips to the area and discovered the destruction of the site. The ancient structures were ruined, and the mouth of the cave was almost completely filled in. Field school director Yaron Rosenthal said Thursday: "While the cultured world is appalled at the destruction of ancient cities in Iraq and Syria by [Islamic State], we are witnessing broad-scale destruction of antiquities in our country."