A total of 21 catacombs have so far been discovered in the Beit She'arim necropolis, almost all containing a main hall with recesses in the wall ("loculi") and sarcophagi that once contained the remains of the dead. These have since been removed, either by grave-robbers, or by "Atra Kadisha", the governmental body responsible for the reburial of exhumed bones at archaeological sites. Most of the remains date from the 2nd to 4th century CE. Close to 300 sepulchral inscriptions have been discovered at the necropolis, most of which engraved in Greek uncials, and a few in Hebrew and Aramaic. Geographical references in these inscriptions reveal that the necropolis was used by people from the town of Beit She'arim, from elsewhere in Galilee, and even from cities as far away as Palmyra (in Syria) and Tyre. Others came from Antioch (in Turkey), Mesene (in South Mesopotamia), the Phoenician coast, Sidon, Beirut, and Byblos (in Lebanon), and Himyar (in Yemen), among other places.