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Judean Desert

A 1400-year-old limestone mold to craft flasks decorated with a cross and bearing the inscription ‘Lord’s blessing from the holy places’ was found at the site of Hyrcania in the Judean Desert in the West Bank. (Michal Haber/Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
December 25, 2025, 8:10 pm
Forget keychains, Byzantine pilgrims took home ‘souvenir’ flasks, newly found mold shows
Judean Desert finds dated 1,400 years ago bear witness to ‘flourishing Christian pilgrimage industry’ as travelers from around Roman Empire sought mementos of visits to Jesus-linked sites
By Rossella Tercatin
Dr. Asaf Gayer from the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Ariel University, examines a cave near the Ein Gedi National Park in the Dead Sea region, featuring an ancient Aramaic inscription, possibly dated to the Bar Kochba Revolt, that was first revealed to the public in August 2025. (Asaf Gayer)
August 7, 2025, 10:31 am
‘Abba of Naburya has perished’: Unique 1,900-year-old inscription found in Dead Sea cave
Four-line Aramaic text, one of the few legible inscriptions from the era, may be tied to the Bar Kochba Revolt. The words were spotted only inches away from hidden Roman swords
By Rossella Tercatin
Archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority excavating a 2,200-year-old site north of Nahal Zohar in the Judean Desert in March 2025. (Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority)
March 25, 2025, 4:37 pm
Enigmatic 2,200-year-old ‘pyramid’ near Dead Sea may have been fortress for ancient taxman
Excavations by Israeli archaeologists at the mysterious Judean Desert site reveal artifacts suggesting it served as a post for tax collection and later, a Roman-era tomb
By Rossella Tercatin
Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem finished their second season of excavations at the Hyrcania fortress in the Judean desert in the West Bank in January 2025 in cooperation with the Staff Officer of Archaeology of Judea and Samaria. In the Byzantine compound, they uncovered a medallion mosaic which had been intentionally defaced with a column drum from the Herodian period. (Oren Gutfeld/The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
February 20, 2025, 2:23 pm
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
By Rossella Tercatin
A 1,900-year-old papyrus written in Greek has been deciphered for the first time by a group of Israeli and Austrian scholars. The artifact, renamed Papyrus Cotton, features the notes of a trial in the period leading up to the Bar Kochba revolt. (Shai Halevi, Courtesy of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, Israel Antiquities Authority)
January 30, 2025, 5:18 am
Fraud, forgery and sedition: 1,900-year-old papyrus records Roman trial against Jews
New research on the longest Greek papyrus from the Judean Desert ever discovered offers unprecedented insights into life in the Land of Israel in Bar Kochba era
By Rossella Tercatin
A fragment of a rare 3,800-year-old textile, dyed with the Kermes vermilio insect. (Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
July 18, 2024, 7:21 pm
Tiny 3,800-year old textile found in Israel was dyed with biblical ‘scarlet worm’
Ancient sources reference use of scale insects for red dye, but examples from before Roman period are sparse; new find ‘bridges the gap’ between written sources and found artifacts
By ToI Staff
The body of a griffon vulture in its cliffside nest in the Judean Desert in southern Israel March 2024. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
March 10, 2024, 6:07 pm
Three endangered griffon vultures found dead in southern Israel, poison suspected
Parents and chick thought to have eaten carcass treated with anti-inflammatory drug; fourth bird from struggling population dies after hitting electric line
By Sue Surkes
Four rare Bar Kochba Revolt-era coins found in the Judean Desert, in an undated photo. (Oriya Amichai/Israel Antiquities Authority)
March 4, 2024, 11:33 am
Rare coin engraved with the name ‘Eleazar the Priest’ found in Judean Desert
Bar Kochba Revolt-era coin discovered along with three others and dated to 132 CE; Israel Antiquities Authority seeks volunteers for 10-day March dig in Judean caves
By Gavriel Fiske
Archaeologists remove the swords from the rock crevice where they were hidden some 1,900 years ago in a cave in the Judean Desert. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
December 13, 2023, 10:48 am
Swords found in Judean Desert caves ranked as most exciting archaeology story of 2023
National Geographic gives top slot to discovery of 1,900-year-old, remarkably preserved Roman blades, likely cached by Bar Kochba rebels in one of 800 caves near Dead Sea
By Gavriel Fiske
Inscription in Koine Greek from the Book of Psalms, found at the Hyrcania Fortress in the Judean Desert. (Courtesy)
September 27, 2023, 1:00 pm
Unique Byzantine Psalm inscription in New Testament Greek discovered in Judean Desert
First organized excavation at ruins of Hyrcania sheds light on King Herod’s forbidding fortress, where a small 5th-century monastic community waited out the region’s regime changes
By Gavriel Fiske
Archaeologists carefully remove the swords from the entrance of the cave where they were discovered in the Judean desert. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
September 7, 2023, 2:10 am
Crack unit of rock-climbing archaeologists claims success in curbing antiquities theft
Six years into wide-scale Judean Desert cave survey operation, few Dead Sea Scrolls fragments are found. But the Land of Israel’s historical picture is ever more in focus, says IAA
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
An undated photo of visitors bathe in one of the pools of the Einot Tsukim oasis in the Judean Desert. (Courtesy of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
August 1, 2023, 10:34 pm
Environment minister announces sex-segregated hours at parks, prompting legal review
Justice officials need to authorize the project, which would extend opening hours for religiously observant visitors at two natural springs in August
By Canaan Lidor
Illustrative: Floods in the Judean Desert due to heavy rain which hit Israel on January 19, 2018. (Yaniv Nadav/Flash90)
June 3, 2023, 11:58 am
Hikers urged to leave Judean Desert as flash flood warning issued, parks closed
Rains forecast to break extreme heatwave that has hit region in recent days, sparking hundreds of fires and leaving thousands without power
By ToI Staff
A tree downed in Haifa by a winter storm, February 6, 2023 (Roni Ofer/Flash90)
February 6, 2023, 6:59 am
Storm Barbara blows in with furious winds, heavy rain, snow; injuries reported
Teens hurt by falling tree branches, Sea of Galilee rises 1.5 centimeters as storm sparks flash flood warnings; snow possible in high-elevation areas as mercury plummets
By ToI Staff
File: View of the Mar Saba Monastery in the Judean Desert, October 28, 2017 (Maor Kinsbursky/FLASH90)
September 9, 2022, 7:07 pm
Spanish tourist dies after falling from height in Judean Desert
Woman fell some 10 meters near Mar Saba Monastery; police and rescue forces arrived at the scene but were unable to save her
By ToI Staff
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