“It is very exciting to see these discoveries and expose them to the public, discoveries that shed great light on our history,” said Avi Cohen, CEO of the Jerusalem Ministry and Heritage. “These discoveries are not only important for our own cultural heritage, but for that of the whole world.”
Other items include a coin cache with Jewish symbols, including a harp and date palm, arrowheads and spearheads, cloth, sandals and lice combs – all designed to date from the end of the Bar Kokhba Uprising (132- 136 AD), in which the Jews fought against Roman rule in Judea.
The treasures were found in what the Antiquities Authority called the “Cave of Horror” in the Judean Desert, which was discovered in 2017. The area’s unique dry climate means that the documents found there survived in exceptionally good condition.
Using methods more likely to be seen in a Hollywood film than in an archaeological project, the researchers had to rappel down a precarious cliff to reach the opening of the cave, which is 262 feet below the top of a cliff and flanked by gorges on both sides. Drones have also been used to inspect difficult-to-reach parts of caves.
The official made a point of pointing out in his announcement on Tuesday that access to the cave is forbidden for security reasons.
The remarkable discoveries were made during an Israeli project to prevent looting in the Holy Land, which experts say has been a constant threat to artifacts not discovered since the first discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Antiquities Authority Director Israel Hasson, who launched the operation, asked the Israeli government to do more to protect other unknown treasures.
“The newly discovered fragments of rolls are an alert to the state. Resources must be allocated for the completion of this historically important operation,” he said.
“We must ensure that we recover all the data that has not yet been discovered in the caves, before the thieves do it. Some things are worthless.”
Paul Goldman contributed.