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COURTESY OF THE MASADA EXPEDITION/PHOTO BY SASHA FLIT

HERMIT’S CAVE. About 10 feet west of Building XIII’s hall lies a cave that was remodeled in antiquity. With an entrance of ashlar blocks and two niches for oil lamps, the cave’s northern wing had been widened to accommodate activity. Although a “scroll jar” fragment (the type of jar discovered and associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls) was found in the cave, the majority of the artifacts date to the Byzantine period, which suggests that a Christian hermit last occupied the cave.