Ancient and classical periods Beit Ur al-Tahta is situated on an ancient
tell, which has been identified as the site of Lower
Bethoron. The modern Arabic name
preserves part of the
biblical name for the village, believed to be the namesake of the
Canaanite deity Horon. Archaeological findings indicate that Lower Bethoron was established before Upper Bethoron (
Beit Ur al-Foqa);
potsherds found in Beit Ur al-Fauqa date from the
Iron Age onward, while potsherds from the lower town date from the
Late Bronze Age. The village has unearthed a variety of archaeological findings from antiquity. A
Mandatory-period document mentions four ossuaries that were found in a tomb, two embellished with
rosettes. Other noteworthy archaeological finds include an Iron Age
olive press and a burial cave from the Roman period.
Byzantine period To the west of the village is the ruins of a chapel, apparently from the
Byzantine period, and ceramics from the same period have also been found. The village also yielded
acanthus capitals, traces of a
mosaic floor, and architectural fragments. Capitals, bases, and a marble
chancel were discovered in
er-Ras, situated east of the village.
Crusader period During the
Crusader period, the place was mentioned in the 12th century as a
fief of the
Holy Sepulchre. In 1838 it was noted as a Muslim village, located in the
Beni Malik area, west of Jerusalem. A 19th-century traveler visiting the town found the remains of ancient foundations, rock-cut cisterns and a tomb that was said to have contained treasures. Father P.M. Séjourné, revisiting the site, noticed the ruins of a large church: "The mosaic pavement of an important church located northeast of the village has disappeared, at least for the moment, under a watermelon field. The scattered spoils of the Christian building have enriched the neighbouring modern mosque and many hovels nearby. Fragments of a graceful frieze,
capitals with
Corinthian acanthus carved in white marble, columns and dressed stones lie unused along the roads." Another researcher,
Victor Guérin, saw two columns from the church inside the local mosque. Based on these finds, it was concluded that the village was once Christian, and had a large three-
nave church. An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that
Bet Ur et-Tatha had 35 houses and a population of 185, though it only counted the men. In 1883, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine described Beit 'Ur et Tahta as "A village of moderate size on a low ridge with
wells to the west. In the middle of the village is the sacred place of ''Neby 'Or'', with a palm tree in the courtyard: near it is a well in the street.
British Mandate period In the
1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the
British Mandate authorities, Beit Ur al-Tahta had a population of 470, all Muslims, while at the
1931 census, Beit 'Ur al-Tahta had 117 occupied houses and a population of 611, still all Muslim. In the
1945 statistics the population was 710, all Muslims, while the total land area was 4,619
dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 2,045 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,780 for cereals, while 41 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas. File:el Misbah 1944.jpg|Beit Ur al-Tahta 1944 1:20,000 from 1919 survey File:Burj 1945.jpg|Beit Ur al-Tahta 1945 1:250,000 (bottom right quadrant)
Jordanian period In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the
1949 Armistice Agreements, Beit Ur al-Tahta came under
Jordanian rule. In 1961, the population was 1,198 persons.
Post-1967 Since the
Six-Day War in 1967, Beit Ur al-Tahta has been under
Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was of 920, of whom 60 originated from the Israeli territory. In the 1980s, several members of the "
Village League" (local citizens authorized by Israel to carry arms and enforce order) were killed by their fellow villagers in Beit Ur al-Tahta for cooperating with
Israel. In the 1980s and 1990s, lands belonging to Beit Ur al-Tahta were confiscated by the Israeli government to build
Highway 443 along the
Pass of Bethoron. A petition challenging the move submitted to the
Supreme Court of Israel in September 1983 was rejected by Justice
Aharon Barak who ruled that under
international law, a military government have the right to infringe private property if a number of conditions are fulfilled, stating that "The step is taken for the benefit of the local population". Highway 443 initially served as a main approach road linking the 25,000 inhabitants of six villages to each other's and to
Ramallah. After the outbreak of the
Second Intifada, the
Israeli military prevented Palestinian use of the road and blocked some parts of it without a legal order, and the construction of the
Israeli West Bank barrier closed off access to the old road, which lengthened the journey. In 2007, the
Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the state of Israel to explain why the road has been blocked for seven years without a legal order and why Palestinians are prevented from using it. In October 2009, infrastructure improvements were completed in Beit Ur al-Tahta that included improved roads and street lighting. The project was funded by
American Charities for Palestine, the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the
Sheikh Mohammed Shami Foundation. The total cost was $400,000. In September 2021, a Palestinian gardener was shot dead near the village when he apparently lit up a cigarette near a group of
Kfir Brigade soldiers sitting nearby in ambush for potential Molotov bomb throwers. == Holy Sites ==