COURTESY NATHAN STEINMEYER / BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY
On a chance visit to a remote cave near Ein Gedi along the western shore of the Dead Sea, archaeologists hoping to photograph a fragmentary inscription on one of the cave’s stalactites happened upon a trove of beautifully preserved Roman swords.
The cache includes three spatha swords, each about 2 feet long; a 17-inch ring pommel sword; and a javelin head. The swords were remarkably well preserved, with their wooden handles and scabbards found largely in-tact. Additionally, the ring pommel sword—a type of weapon that originated in eastern Europe—is the oldest example of this sword ever found in the Roman Near East.
Although experts are still studying the date and purpose of the cache, initial analysis indicates the swords may have been taken from Roman soldiers by Judeans during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE) who then stashed them in the cave for future use.
Other scholars are more cautious about interpreting the finds. “We can’t even pinpoint yet [the dating] within the second century, to the beginning or the end,” said archaeologist Guy Stiebel of Tel Aviv University, who believes that radiocarbon dating, DNA results, and isotope analysis will eventually help to clarify the history of these remarkable weapons.
On a chance visit to a remote cave near Ein Gedi along the western shore of the Dead Sea, archaeologists hoping to photograph a fragmentary inscription on one of the cave’s stalactites happened upon a trove of beautifully preserved Roman swords. The cache includes three spatha swords, each about 2 feet long; a 17-inch ring pommel sword; and a javelin head. The swords were remarkably well preserved, with their wooden handles and scabbards found largely in-tact. Additionally, the ring pommel sword—a type of weapon that originated in eastern Europe—is the oldest example of this sword ever found in the Roman […]
