Mikvehs and monks: Vivid hues link rare Jewish and Christian finds in Judean Desert
Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem just concluded their second season of excavations at Hyrcania, where they found colorful Byzantine mosaics and Herodian frescoes
Rossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
When a community of Christian monks decided to erect their monastery on a hilltop in the Judean Desert in the 5th century CE, adorning it with mosaics and polychromatic decorations, they knew they weren’t the location’s first residents. What they were not aware of was that some 600 years earlier, their predecessors had chosen similar shades to decorate a different religious structure — a Jewish ritual bath — whose walls and ceilings were also painted in dazzling reds, greens, and yellows.
The remains from both the Byzantine and the Second Temple periods were uncovered during the second season of excavations at Hyrcania, about 17 kilometers southeast of Jerusalem, in today’s West Bank.
“When the monks arrived on the hill, the Second-Temple-period ritual bath was completely covered, as we could determine through the pottery we found there,” said Dr. Oren Gutfeld from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “The monks could not have known what they were standing on.”
Hyrcania has been excavated by archaeologists from the Hebrew University in collaboration with the Staff Officer of Archaeology of Judea and Samaria (the biblical name of the West Bank). The second season ended at the end of last month.
Gutfeld spoke to the Times of Israel on Thursday on the sidelines of the conference “Archaeology and Site Conservation of Judea and Samaria” that took place in Jerusalem under the academic sponsorship of the Staff Officer of the Civil Administration, The Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel, Ariel University, Bar Ilan University and the Israel Institute of Archaeology.
Gutfeld’s fellow Hebrew University researcher and co-director of excavations at Hyrcania, Michal Haber, presented the preliminary finds of the second season in a session devoted to Hasmonean fortresses in the Judean Desert.
The first season of excavation in 2023 marked the first time the site was academically dug and researched.
“Hyrcania stands on the Western edge of a dramatic plateau and was founded by either Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus or his son Alexander Jannaeus between the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 1st centuries BCE,” said Haber. “It was one of several desert fortress palaces intended to guard the eastern border of Judeae.”
Destroyed by Roman general Gabinius in 57 BCE — whose intervention was sought after by Hyrcanus II against his brother Aristobulos, who had risen against him — Hyrcania was restored and expanded by Herod the Great in the second half of the 1st century BCE.
“Herod sent his enemies to be imprisoned at Hyrcania, but when Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-in-law of his patron Augustus, visited Judeae in 15 BCE, he also chose to host him there,” Haber said.
The fortress was abandoned after Herod’s death in 4 BCE.
Life renews on a ‘terrifying mountain’
Five centuries later, in 492 CE, historical sources document that Holy Sabas, a leader of Judean Desert monasticism, ascended what he described as a “terrifying mountain” and established the monastery as a dependence of the Great Laura of Saint Sabas, a monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley that is still used to this day, currently affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church.
“Byzantine monks built monasteries over the remains of several fortresses in the Judean desert, but we do not believe there was a particular reason for it other than the strategic nature of those hilltops,” said Gutfeld.
The monastery fell into disuse in the late 8th or early 9th century CE.
“When we first excavated the site, we thought that we were dealing with a modest building since historical sources describe a small group of people establishing it,” Haber told The Times of Israel. “As we uncovered its decorative structures, mosaic floor, and other features, we understood the story was different. Now we can see how we are dealing with a prosperous monumental monastery.”
In 2023, the archaeologists uncovered an impressive inscription painted in red, paraphrasing part of Psalm 86 in the Greek used in the New Testament, which was found under a cross.
One of the most striking items uncovered in the latest dig is an elaborate mosaic medallion, which originally decorated an archway. The medallion features concentric decorations in blue, red, and green.
The center likely depicted a human figure, perhaps Jesus or a saint, but was purposefully defaced, likely in the Early Islamic period, as several finds point to some presence at the site at that time. The Islamic period finds include an impressive gold ring bearing a turquoise stone with an Arabic inscription “Mashallah,” or “God has willed it,” unearthed in 2023, and, most recently, a multi-nozzle oil lamp.
“Islamic law prohibits using human or animal images,” said Gutfeld. “It is pretty clear that someone destroyed the medallion’s center for this reason.”
The archaeologists also unearthed a Byzantine mosaic floor and the remains of several rooms.
As they proceeded with the excavation, the team also reached the subterranean chambers under the monastery, sealed by time and destruction centuries earlier. What they uncovered offers a glimpse of the glamorous life of the fortress’ residents and guests.
“We found a lovely example of a vaulted Jewish ritual bath, or mikveh, with the remains of columns,” Haber said.
The researchers were also surprised to find out that a wall attributed to the Hasmonean phase of the site was much larger than they previously thought.
“The wall was almost two meters thick,” said Haber. “Here, in a corner, we found the remains of a second mikveh. Together with the rest of the collapsed materials, we uncovered dozens of fragments of lovely stucco ornamentation.”
Haber said that the colorful fragments they found were probably painted under Herod as they are almost identical to those unearthed in a late Second Temple-period villa in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, where people who belonged to the elites of the city lived.
“If Herod hosted the son-in-law of the emperor in Hyrcania, he probably had to make sure the palace was luxurious enough for a similar event,” said Haber.
The archaeologists have already planned a new season of excavation in October 2025. Ultimately, the goal is to make the site accessible to the public.
“Our second season of excavations has also launched a long-term collaboration with the Staff Officer of Archaeology to excavate, conserve, and develop Hyrcania, this extraordinary little mountain, as an attraction for the general public,” said Haber.
