On the Cave of Letters

SPELUNCIC ARCHAEOLOGY: Cave of Letters: Probably the Most Important Cave In Ancient Jewish History (Molly Dowdeswell, Ancient Heritage).

The Cave of Letters is quite literally a cave of secrets. Rediscovered by archaeologists in the 1960s, its contents told of uprisings as well as everyday life in ancient Israel.

What at first appeared to be an unassuming cave located in a cliff face in the Judean desert actually turned out to be a perfectly preserved time capsule, full of letters and documents from the 1st and 2nd centuries. Archaeologists have worked hard to pick apart these letters and the other items found in the cave in order to understand who used the cave and why.

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This essay ably demonstrates the importance of the Cave of Letters for ancient Jewish history. But I am still going with Qumran Cave 4 as the most important.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Richard Freund's work on the Cave of Letters, see here, here, here, and here. For some posts on the Babatha archive, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And for more on the Cave of Letters, see here and links.

For additional posts on the Bar Kokhba Revolt and the texts and artifacts (mostly coins) associated with it, follow the links collected here, and see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and links.

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