Hanan Eshel

FINDS FROM THE BAR KOKHBA REVOLT FROM TWO CAVES AT EN GEDI

Abstract Finds from two caves that were excavated in Ein Gedi in 2002 are described. Eleven bronze coins of the Bar-Kokhba Revolt, twelve arrowheads and fragments of two papyrus documents were recovered in the Har Yishay Cave, located along the northern slopes of Nahal David. A hoard of nine silver coins, including a Bar-Kokhba tetradrachm, were found in the Sabar Cave. This is the second Bar-Kokhba tetradrachm to have been found in the context of a scientifically controlled archaeological project. Along with it were six Roman dinars and two dinars overstruck by Bar Kokhba. From the evidence of one of the Bar Kokhba documents dated to the third year of the revolt, it is possible to estimate that when this hoard was deposited in the cave, the total value of the coins exceeded that of a house!

A Document from “Year 4 of the Destruction of the House of Israel”

The article presents a document, a receipt of a ketubba and a waiver of claims, that bears the date “Year 4 of the Destruction of the House of Israel.” The counting is from after the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, and the document thus would date to 140 c.e. The discussion consists of text, translation, notes on readings, commentary, and palaeographical description.

Gleaning Of Scrolls From The Judean Desert

This chapter deals both with fragments found in the eleven Qumran caves and documents from the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. It first surveys the history of archaeological research during the Golden Age of the discoveries in the Judean Desert. The chapter then considers scroll fragments from the Qumran caves that, although found before 1956, came to public notice only in recent years. It looks at the inscriptions found at Khirbet Qumran, because those found by de Vaux and additional ostraca were found at Qumran in the last few years. Finally the chapter looks at the scroll fragments, economic documents, and inscriptions from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt, some of which were kept for many years by collectors and antiquities dealers and were published only recently, while others were discovered in the Judean Desert caves since 1984. Keywords: Bar Kokhba Revolt; Golden Age; Judean Desert; Khirbet Qumran; Qumran caves; scroll fragments

Daily Life at Qumran

According to the authors, the Qumran site housed a monastery. In their opinion, the archaeological discoveries and the writings of Pliny the Elder are sufficient evidence of this; the manuscripts are not necessary to reach this conclusion. It was here that the first monastic community of the Western world lived.