FOUR HIDDEN ROMAN SWORDS FOUND IN AN ISRAELI CAVE. THE SWORDS WERE PRESERVED IN AN EXCELLENT STATE. September 6, 2023/JNS

 Four hidden Roman swords found in an Israeli cave

The swords were preserved in an excellent state.

Sejal Sharma

Sejal Sharma

| Sep 06, 2023 03:30 PM Four Roman swords dating back 1,900 years have been discovered in a near impregnable crevice inside a small hidden cave in Israel’s En Gedi Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert.

As per the initial findings, the researchers believe that the swords were hidden by the Judean rebels after they were seized from the Roman army as booty. It was revealed from the way the swords were assembled that these kinds of swords were used regularly by the Roman soldiers stationed in Judea in the Roman period EST

Sensation in the Judean Desert: a cache of four 1,900-year-old, excellently preserved Roman swords and a shafted weapon were discovered in a crevice in a cave in the ‘En Gedi Nature Reserve. 

It appears that the weapons were hidden by the Judean rebels, after they were seized from the Roman army as booty. “Finding a single sword is rare—so four? It’s a dream! We rubbed our eyes to believe it,” say the researchers.

The rare weapons were exhibited for the first time in the press conference that took place this morning, with Eli Escusido, the Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the researchers. This conference is part of the launching of the book ‘New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers’, devoted to new archaeological finds discovered in the Judean Desert Survey Project.

The weapons were discovered in a small hidden cave located in an area of isolated and inaccessible cliffs north of ‘En Gedi, in the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Authority. Fifty years ago, a stalactite with a fragmentary ink inscription written in ancient Hebrew script characteristic of the First Temple period, was found. 

Recently, Dr. Asaf Gayer of the Department of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Ariel University, geologist Boaz Langford of the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority photographer, visited the cave. Their aim was to photograph the Paleo-Hebrew inscription written on the stalactite with multispectral photography that might be able to decipher additional parts of the inscription not visible to the naked eye. While on the upper level of the cave, Asaf Gayer spotted an extremely well-preserved, Roman pilum— a shafted weapon in a deep narrow crevice. He also found pieces of worked wood in an adjacent niche that turned out to be parts of the swords’ scabbards.

The researchers reported the discovery to the Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeological Survey Team, who are conducting a systematic scientific project in the Judean Desert caves. As part of this survey, initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and the Archaeological Office for the Military Administration of Judea and Samaria, hundreds of caves have been investigated over the past six years, and 24 archaeological excavations have been carried out in selected caves, with the aim of saving the archaeological remains from the hands of looters.

The Judean Desert Cave Survey team, together with Asaf Gayer and Boaz Langford returned to the cave and carried out a meticulous survey of all the crevices in the rock, during which they were astonished to find the four Roman swords in an almost inaccessible crevice on the upper level of the cave. The swords were exceptionally well preserved, and three were found with the iron blade inside the wooden scabbards. Leather strips and wooden and metal finds belonging to the weapons were also found in the crevice. The swords had well-fashioned handles made of wood or metal. The length of the blades of three swords was 60–65 cm, their dimensions identifying them as Roman spatha swords, and the fourth one was shorter with c. 45 cm long blade, identified as a ring-pommel sword. The swords were carefully removed from the crevice in the rock and transferred to the Israel Antiquities Authority climate-controlled laboratories for preservation and conservation. The initial examination of the assemblage confirmed that these were standard swords employed by the Roman soldiers stationed in Judea in the Roman period.

“The hiding of the swords and the pilum in deep cracks in the isolated cave north of ‘En Gedi, hints that the weapons were taken as booty from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield, and purposely hidden by the Judean rebels for reuse,” says Dr. Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project. “Obviously, the rebels did not want to be caught by the Roman authorities carrying these weapons. We are just beginning the research on the cave and the weapon cache discovered in it, aiming to try to find out who owned the swords, and where, when, and by whom they were manufactured. We will try to pinpoint the historical event that led to the caching of these weapons in the cave and determine whether it was at the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE.”

Following the discovery of the swords, an archaeological excavation was undertaken in the cave by the Israel Antiquities Authority, directed by Eitan Klein, Oriya Amichay, Hagay Hamer, and Amir Ganor. The cave was excavated in its entirety, and artifacts dating to the Chalcolithic period (c. 6,000 years ago) and the Roman period (c. 2,000 years ago) were uncovered. At the entrance to the cave, a Bar-Kokhba bronze coin from the time of the Revolt was found, possibly pointing to the time when the cave served for concealing the weapons.

The preliminary article on the swords is now published in the volume ‘New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers’ and will be launched this evening (6.9) in Jerusalem at an insightful event!

The book ‘New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers’ will be launched (6.9) in Jerusalem at an insightful event! In addition, the swords discussed above will be presented.

Removing the swords from the crevice where they were hidden. Photography: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority 

REMOVING THE SWORDS FROM THE CREVICE WHERE THEY WERE HIDDEN. 
PHOTOGRAPHY: EMIL ALADJEM, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY 

FROM RIGHT TO LEFT : DR. ASAF GAYER, ORIYA AMICHAY, DR. EITAN KLEIN, AND AMIR GANOR. 
PHOTOGRAPHY : YOLI SCHWARTZ, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY 

REMOVING THE SWORDS FROM THE CAVE. 
PHOTOGRAPHY : EMIL AlADJEM, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY 

AT WORK IN THE CAVE. 
PHOTOGRAPHY : HAGAY HAMER, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY 

CONSERVATORS LLIA REZNITZKY AND LENA KUPERSHMIDT WITH THE SWORDS. 
PHOTOGRAPHY : EMIL ALADJEM, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY 

ARCHAEOLOGIST ORIYA AMICHAY AND HAGAY HAMER WITH ONE OF THE SWORDS FOUND IN THE CAVE. PHOTOGRAPHY : AMIR GENOR,  ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY 

ElI ESCUSIDO DIRECTOR OF THE ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2023