Horvat Midras (Hebrew: חורבת מדרס), or Khirbet Drūsye in Arabic, is an archaeological site located in the central Judaean Lowlands, in modern-day Israel. It contains the remains of an ancient settlement situated on the slopes of a spur near an ancient road that once connected Jerusalem with the southern coastal plain. Today, the site lies within the Adullam Nature Reserve.
Continuous occupation at Horvat Midras is attested from the Hellenistic period. Following the Hasmonean conquest of Idumaea in the late 2nd century BCE, the site was briefly abandoned. It was re-established in the 1st century BCE and grew to become one of the largest and most affluent rural settlements in the Judaean Lowlands during the Second Temple period. The site, home to a Jewish population, remained inhabited through the First Jewish Revolt (66–70 CE) and up to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE). Later in the same century, a cultic complex was established at the site. During the Byzantine period, Horvat Midras was home to a small Christian village, with an elaborate church.
Following the Muslim conquest in the early 7th century, the church remained in use, but its crosses were intentionally plastered over, and access routes were altered to avoid the sanctuary. The church collapsed during the 749 earthquake, after which a rural settlement began to develop in the late 8th or 9th century. After several centuries of abandonment, the site was reoccupied in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (13th to 16th centuries) and functioned as a small agricultural village. In the early Ottoman period, it declined, becoming a seasonal settlement, with the ancient remains reused for herding and small-scale farming.
One of the most notable finds at Horvat Midras is a monumental family tomb from the late Second Temple period, consisting of a podium topped by a stepped pyramid. Unique in the rural landscape of ancient Judea, it represents a rare example of a rural "display tomb"—a status symbol likely commissioned by a wealthy family, possibly one whose influence rose through ties with the Herodian dynasty. Other major finds include hiding complexes, rock-cut tombs, columbaria (structures intended to house pigeons), mikvehs (Jewish ritual baths), and the elaborate Byzantine church with well-preserved mosaics.
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