JUDEAN DESERT CAVES
Following the discovery of the *Dead Sea Scrolls in the *Qumran caves, frantic searches for additional documents were carried out by Bedouin in all the caves of the valleys in the area of the Dead Sea. As a result of evidence of such activities by Arab infiltrators from Jordanian territory into the territory of Israel, an expedition directed by Y. Aharoni set out to survey the area (November–December 1953). This was followed by a full-scale expedition, divided into four groups, which was undertaken jointly by the Hebrew University, the Israel Department of Antiquities, and the Israel
Along with the finds at the Murabba'at caves these discoveries have revolutionized the conception of the Bar Kokhba War and have opened new vistas on the material and religious culture of the Chalcolithic period. By providing precisely dated material they are of great significance for the archaeology of the Roman and talmudic periods.
The archaeological exploration of the Judean Desert, made possible following the victory of the Six-Day War, was continued in subsequent years by a joint expedition headed by Pessah Bar-Adon on behalf of the Hebrew University, the Government Department of Antiquities, and the Israel Exploration Society, and with the assistance of the Military Government. A preliminary archaeological survey of the Judean Desert, the Jericho Plain, and the Jordan Valley revealed large numbers of hitherto unknown sites which have completely changed the previous historical-archaeological picture. Additional information has been gained of the Chalcolithic period as well as settlements, a planned defense system of strongholds, and secret water supplies, belonging to the periods of the First and Second Temples, These strongholds were used to protect flocks and herds, agricultural and manufactured products as well as caravans, Among the important discoveries on the shore of the Dead Sea mention should be made of the uncovering of a large house, 20 × 45 m., consisting of a hall and two rooms, in 'Ein al-Ghuweir. In the area which served as the kitchen were found stoves, granaries, and large vessels in cavities surrounded with stones. An additional floor had been built on a layer of ashes, 10–20 cm. thick. Coins of the reigns of Herod, Archelaus, and Agrippa I were found and earthenware vessels identical with those found at *Qumran. The building seems to have served as a communal one for the Qumran sect, a supposition reinforced by the discovery of a cemetery to the north. Twenty graves were excavated which were in every respect identical with those in the cemetery of Qumran. On a potsherd in one the name Jehohanan could be deciphered.
In the area of 'Ein al-Ghuweir and 'Ein at-Turaba sites were uncovered belonging to the 8th–7th centuries B.C.E. A building was uncovered typical of the Israelite period, but unique in that it had a square chamber, divided in three by inner walls. The utensils discovered, all of the Israelite II period, were similar to those found at Tel Goren in En-Gedi, which have been ascribed to the manufacture of balsam perfume. There was evidence of more houses. A defense wall, to which were attached rooms, suggests that they were part of a general defense system extending from the stronghold of Rujm al-Baḥr to Qumran and south and west. Three such fortresses have been excavated. One of them, on which only experimental soundings had previously been made by I. Blake, has now been excavated in its entirety. It contains eight rooms with sloping walls built of large unhewn stones. The entrance, to the north, was approached by a sloping ramp. Utensils were found belonging to the Israelite II period. A small fortress was
During the 1980s and early 1990s new surveys of caves in the Judean Desert were made by Hanan Eshel and others, and these brought to light Bar Kokhba period remains, as well as fragments of written documents. In 1993 a new project consisting of surveys and excavations was conducted within caves in the northern Judean Desert ("Operation Scroll"). The project was undertaken by the Israeli Antiquities Authority and their stated goal was to find new scrolls. This IAA survey was undertaken by a large numbers of archaeologists at the time when the first Oslo Accords were being agreed upon; as a result the timing of the survey by the IAA was heavily criticized and the survey was seen by some to be an act of opportunism. The survey was undertaken along the eastern cliffs of the Judean and Ramallah anticlines, from Wadi ed-Daliya in the north to Nahal Deregot in the south. A total of about 650 caves and sites were surveyed, and 70 were excavated. Finds were made dating from all periods from the Neolithic through Ottoman times, including numerous finds dating from the time of Bar Kokhba.
[Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.)]
Avigad et al., in IEJ, 11 (1961), 1ff.; 12 (1962), 176ff.; Y. Yadin, The Finds from the Bar Kokhba Period in the Cave of Letters (1963); Aharoni et al., in Atiqot, 3 (1961), 148ff.; P. Bar-Adon, in: Seker Yehudah, Shomron ve-Golan, Seker Arkheologi 1967–8 (1972); idem, in: Eretz Israel, 10, Sefer Ha-Nasi Shazar (1971); I. Blake, in: Illustrated London News, 4/3 (1967), 27–29; P. Bar-Adon: Revue Biblique, 79 (1972), 411–13. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. Eshel and D. Amit, Refuge Caves of the Bar Kokhba Revolt (1998); L. Wexler (ed.), Surveys and Excavations of Caves in the Northern Judean Desert (CNJD) – 1993,Atiqot, 41, parts 1–2 (2002).
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.