The Bar Kokhba refuge caves are natural caves that were used for shelter by Jewish refugees during the later phases of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Most of the refuge caves were located in the Judaean Desert, nestled within steep cliffs far away from settlements, many overlooking the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. Some were also found in ravines flowing into the Dead Sea, while others were nestled within the Judaean Mountains. [1] Unlike the other two hideout systems used by the rebels, the man-made rock-cut hiding complexes, and the hard-to-reach cliff shelters which often contain hewn installations, the refuge caves remained largely untouched by human intervention. [1] [2]
Jews taking shelter in refuge caves aimed to escape the Roman army during its suppression of the revolt. [1] These caves are thought to have offered sanctuary to those in the eastern Judaean Mountains and the Jordan Valley. [3] Some caves show signs of successful refuge, while others contain skeletal remains of adults and children, indicating deaths due to starvation, thirst, or encounters with Roman forces, as evidenced by the construction of siege camps and the discovery of arrowheads embedded in cave ceilings. [1]
Refuge caves such as the Cave of Letters and Cave of Horror in Nahal Hever, as well as those within Wadi Murabba'at, have yielded many notable archaeological artifacts. These include fragments of Biblical scrolls, documents inscribed in Aramaic and Greek, a variety of weaponry—both locally produced and plundered from the Romans—and coins minted by the Bar Kokhba administration. Moreover, these caves have served as time capsules, preserving household items and valuable objects such as metalwork, pottery, glassware, jewelry, textiles, sandals and keys. [1] [4] These artifacts provide valuable insights into daily life during this tumultuous period, illuminating the experiences of refugees who were prepared for an uncertain future and hopeful for a return to their homes. [5] Among the finds are letters authored by Simon bar Kokhba himself, offering a direct glimpse into the leadership and administration of the revolt. [6]
Caves were used for refuge throughout history in the region. Up the southern slope of the Masada cliff, the almost inaccessible Yoram Cave, whose only opening is located some 4 metres (13 ft) above an exposed access path and 100 metres (330 ft) below the plateau, has been found to contain 6,000-year-old barley seeds. Researchers believe that it was a place of short-term refuge for Chalcolithic people fleeing an unknown catastrophe and carrying with them the grain into the desert, the closest place where the barley could have been grown being at least 20 kilometers (12 miles) away. [7] [8] [9]
A refuge cave from Western Galilee, the Kamon Cave, was found to hold large storage jars as well as valuables, placed there at the end of the 4th century BCE during the Diadochi Wars, which wrought havoc in the region including the destruction of nearby Acre. [10]
Over 30 refuge caves have been discovered in the Judaean Desert. [1] These caves are believed to have provided sanctuary for Jewish refugees fleeing from their homes in the eastern Judean Mountains and the Jordan Valley, [3] mainly originated from nearby areas such as Ein Gedi along the western shore of the Dead Sea, villages in the southern Hebron region, and northern locations like Herodium, Jerusalem, and Jericho. Epigraphic evidence suggests that some refugees even came from farther east of the Dead Sea. [11] [12] Eshel and Amit proposed that caves near settlements were used by ordinary people, while leaders of communities and high officials of the Bar Kokhba administration sought refuge in more remote caves that were harder to access. [13]
Until recently, the vast majority of the hideout systems datable to the Bar Kokhba revolt (hiding complexes, cliff shelters, and refuge caves) were documented in what in biblical terms is known as the territory of Judah. More recently, such caves were discovered north of it, in Benjamin and Samaria. In Galilee, however, only the first two types of hideouts are known with certainty, with no refuge caves reported or published until 2018. At that point however, from among the 136 caves surveyed in the Meiron Valley area of Upper Galilee, three or possibly four have yielded some pottery most likely dating from the 2nd-4th centuries (Late Roman period). Due to the scarcity of the findings, researchers are not yet able to identify the population which hid in the caves, or the historical events which forced them to hide underground. What these three caves have in common is that they are only accessible with the help of ropes, are not suitable for long-term habitation, and contain no installations. Research needs to be continued. [2]
A survey of less studied parts of the southern Judaean Desert began in 2001. Before that date, 27 Bar Kokhba refuge caves were known from the Judaean Desert. In the Ein Gedi oasis, centered on two wadis, Nahal David and Nahal Arugot, there are numerous caves, two of which have yielded Bar Kokhba findings since 2001, the Har Yishai Cave and the Sabar Cave, both on the northern side of Nahal David. [22] In 2004, fragments of a Leviticus scroll, brought to the cave in the summer of 135 CE, at the end of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, were discovered in the 'Nahal Arugot cave' (see Dead Sea scrolls). [23] The 'Caves of the Spear' are a group of five refuge caves discovered north of Ein Gedi during the 2001-2004 survey, where Bar Kokhba coins, glass vessels, and weaponry were found, including a rare spearhead. [24]
Other known Bar Kokhba refuge caves are 'Araq el-Battan in Nahal Shiloh, the Nahal Qidron cave, and the Wadi el-Makkuk (Nahal Makuk) caves.[ citation needed ]
The Bar Kokhba revolt was a large-scale armed rebellion initiated by the Jews of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Lasting until 135 or early 136, it was the third and final escalation of the Jewish–Roman wars. Like the First Jewish–Roman War and the Second Jewish–Roman War, the Bar Kokhba revolt resulted in a total Jewish defeat; Bar Kokhba himself was killed by Roman troops at Betar in 135 and the Jewish rebels who remained after his death were all killed or enslaved within the next year.
Ein Gedi, also spelled En Gedi, meaning "spring of the kid", is an oasis, an archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. Ein Gedi, a kibbutz, was established nearby in 1954.
The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that lies east of the Judaean Mountains, so east of Jerusalem, and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, it has been nominated to the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in the State of Palestine, particularly for its monastic ruins.
The Cave of Letters is a refuge cave in Nahal Hever in the Judean Desert where letters and fragments of papyri from the Roman Empire period were found. Some are related to the Bar Kokhba revolt, including letters of correspondence between Bar-Kokhba and his subordinates. Another notable bundle of papyri, known as the Babatha cache, comprises legal documents of Babatha, a female landowner of the same period.
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (DJD) is the official 40-volume publication that serves as the editio princeps for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is published by Oxford University Press.
Bar Kokhba revolt coinage were coins issued by the Judaean rebel state, headed by Simon Bar Kokhba, during the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire of 132–135 CE.
Judea or Judaea is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the present day; it originates from Yehudah, a Hebrew name. Yehudah was a son of Jacob, who was later given the name "Israel" and whose sons collectively headed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Yehudah's progeny among the Israelites formed the Tribe of Judah, with whom the Kingdom of Judah is associated. Related nomenclature continued to be used under the rule of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term was applied to an area larger than Judea of earlier periods. In 132 CE, the Roman province of Judaea was merged with Galilee to form the enlarged province of Syria Palaestina.
Amos Frumkin is an Israeli geologist and speleologist.
Wadi Murabba'at, also known as Nahal Darga, is a ravine cut by a seasonal stream which runs from the Judean Desert east of Bethlehem past the Herodium down to the Dead Sea 18 km south of Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank. It was here in caves that Jewish fighters hid out during the Bar Kochba revolt, leaving behind documents that include some letters signed by Simon Bar Kochba.
The Wadi Daliyeh is a wadi in the West Bank, located fourteen kilometres north of Jericho, flowing east from the Samarian hills down to the Jordan Valley. The valley has caves containing archaeological material.
Hanan Eshel was an Israeli archaeologist and historian, well known in the field of Dead Sea Scrolls studies, although he did research in the Hasmonean and Bar Kokhba periods as well. With Magen Broshi he discovered a number of residential caves in the near vicinity of Qumran and co-published a number of historically significant documents from Qumran.
Horvat 'Ethri, or Umm Suweid, is an archaeological site situated in the Judean Lowlands in modern-day Israel. Excavations at the site have uncovered the remains of a partially restored Jewish village from the Second Temple period. The site features an ancient synagogue, wine presses, cisterns, mikvehs, stone ossuaries, and an underground hideout system.
The Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever is a Greek manuscript of a revision of the Septuagint dated to the 1st century BC and the 1st century CE. The manuscript is kept in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem. It was first published by Dominique Barthélemy in 1963. The Rahlfs-Siglum is 943.
Cave of Horror is the nickname given to a refuge cave that archaeologists have catalogued as Nahal Hever Cave 8 (8Hev) of the Judaean Desert, Israel, where the remains of Jewish refugees from the Bar Kokhba revolt were found.
The Te'omim Cave, or the Twins Cave, Arabic name Mughâret Umm et-Tûeimîn, is a karstic cave within a nature reserve in Israel located on the western edges of the Jerusalem Mountains, in the vicinity of Beit Shemesh.
Boaz Zissu is an Israeli archaeologist who serves as a professor of classical archaeology in the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University since 2004. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the department head. Additionally, he holds the position of chief editor for the Israel Numismatic Journal, a publication dedicated to the study of ancient coins.
The Bar Kokhba hiding complexes are underground hideout systems built by Jewish rebels and their communities in Judaea and used during the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire. The hiding complexes are believed to have played a significant role during the revolt, particularly in Judea proper. Functioning as hiding places during times of emergency, these systems facilitated defense strategies and guerrilla warfare tactics.
El-Jai cave is a sizable karstic cave located in a cliff within the northern Judaean Desert, in the modern-day West Bank.
Ein Gedi was an important Jewish settlement on the western shore of the Dead Sea in ancient times. The ruins, including the 6th century Ein Gedi synagogue, home to one of the most impressive mosaic floors in Israel, testify to a continuous Jewish settlement in the area for over 1,300 years, from the 7th century BCE to the 6th century CE.
Kiryat Arbaya is an ancient settlement mentioned in two letters written by Simon Bar Kokhba, discovered in the Cave of Letters in Nahal Hever. The settlement has been proposed to be identified with the Arab village of Al-Arroub south of Gush Etzion or with Khirbet Arbaya nearby, close to the road between Bethlehem and Hebron. This area is located between Ein Gedi and Betar, where Bar Kokhba's main camp was likely situated. The literal meaning of the name is 'City of the Arabs' or – what might be more plausible in light of the letter's content – 'City of the Willows'. Additionally, some have suggested identifying Kiryat Arbaya from Bar Kokhba's letters with the legend of the birth of the Messiah that appears in the Jerusalem Talmud and in Lamentations Rabbah.