A PDF version of this report is available here and can be downloaded and circulated: MtMionJulyUpdate.

I wanted to offer a preliminary update report on the Mt Zion Excavation in Jerusalem after three weeks of digging. The results have been simply astounding, the finds quite spectacular, and the whole area has been transformed. I would dare say that those who have seen the site in past years would hardly recognize it. We owe much to our loyal team of 50 registered participants, averaging 30 per week, who have sacrificed their own money, time, and hard labor to advance this important effort. Given the times, with the pressures of the recession, many excavations have had to either cancel or severely cut back, due to lack of volunteers. UNC Charlotte is the only university presently digging in Jerusalem that offers students and volunteers a field school experience. This unique opportunity, along with our location in Jerusalem, has been a large part of our appeal. Our site offers an opportunity to uncover all periods of habitation of this important city (from modern through Ottoman, Crusader, Arab, Byzantine, and Jewish periods—all the way back to the Iron Age). Further, our precise location, on the slopes of Mt Zion, overlooking the Kidron and Hinnom valleys and the Mt of Olives, was in ancient times precisely at the center of Herodian/2nd Temple Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. And what’s more, we have extraordinarily well preserved ruins from this 2nd Temple period, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE.

Our major goals this season have been to remove much of the garden fill and rubble that has accumulated over the past decades so as to get down to the archaeological layers that lie below, with particular emphasis on the 2nd Temple period levels that are preserved to an extraordinary height of 10-12 meters. We began our work on June 14th with two days of manually clearing the site of overgrowth and winter debris. At the same time heavy earthmoving equipment was brought in to remove up to one meter of modern garden fill and tumbled boulders left from the building the modern road that parallels our site. This preparatory work allowed us to concentrate on genuine archaeological layers from antiquity rather than wasting our precious time on debris, fill, and even modern trash layers. As a result the entire site was transformed and has begun now to look like a proper archaeological site. As readers might recall, we are digging in an area that was probed in the 1970s and then abandoned for 40 years! The deep pits and gauged out areas left behind had to be incorporated into our systematic plan to develop a proper archaeological approach to the area. As a result we have had to adopt an “open field” method of digging, rather than a strict grid of squares, however, slowly but surely, the whole site is beginning to make some coherent sense, even to the untrained eye.

Our progress has been amazing and the finds have been quite extraordinary. We will, of course, publish full reports on our Web site later this year but in terms of an overview here are some of our more spectacular finds so far:

1. A stone vessel with an ancient inscription of ten lines written in an archaic Jewish script. Such stone vessels were used in connection with maintaining ritual purity related to Temple worship, and they are found in abundance in areas where the priests lived. We have found a dozen or more on our site over the past three years. However, to have ten lines of text is unprecedented. One normally might find a single name inscribed, or a line or two, but this is the first text of this length ever found on such a vessel. We have shared high-resolution photos with various epigraphic experts in Jerusalem who are working together to try and decipher this text. It is written in a very informal cursive hand and is quite difficult to read.

2. Murex snail shells with holes drilled through them. Prior to our excavation one or two such shells had been found in all of Jerusalem but our site has yielded a half dozen or more. These snails were cultivated at sites along the Mediterranean Sea and a royal blue dye was extracted from them. According to some experts this blue color was used for the priestly garments, as well as the tzitzit or threaded tassels worn by all pious Jews of the period. That so many would be found at our site further supports our supposition that we are in a priestly residential area in terms of the 2nd Temple/Herodian city in the time of Jesus. As we descend into the preserved ruins of the houses of this period perhaps we will learn more of how these snails and their precious dye were used within the city of Jerusalem itself.

3. A fire pit that can be precisely dated to just after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE and the rebuilding of the city by Hadrian following the Bar Kochba rebellion in 135 CE. To come upon this level was an amazing thing. Clearly someone had returned to the area after the Roman conflagration and was living outdoors literally on the ruins of Jerusalem, despite its total destruction. Further up the slope of Mt Zion we know that the 10th Legion of the Roman army had their camp. This little glimpse through a window of time, preserved by the fire pit, we found quite moving to contemplate. Our bone expert, Ram Bouchnik, will be examining the type of meal this mysterious “dweller in the ruins” might have prepared.

4. The threshold of a magnificent Fatimid period double gate that led into the Tower just adjacent to our site along the present city wall built by Suleiman “the Magnificant” in the 16th century. Magen Broshi, who had conducted the initial probes on our site in the 1970s, had always insisted there was a gate leading into the city at the tower, despite denials by Avigad and others, who had excavated inside the Jewish Quarter on the other side of the Wall. We also happened upon the rusted metal sign that Broshi had erected at the site at the time proclaiming this as the “Tower Gate” It is entirely possible that this threshold goes back to even earlier times, perhaps as far back as the Ayyubid period of Saladin (1200s CE). This discovery is most significant and will help us in reconstructing the periods of habitation that run through our site and provide a dramatic display for the public of the early and late Arab periods of Jerusalem’s history.

5. An arched doorway with mosaic floor and plastered wall. Last season we had uncovered the top of a plastered wall along the eastern edge of our excavation. We opened an extension of that area and were eventually able to expose the entire arch in situ with the plastered floor below, approximately 4 meters below the present ground surface. Dating is still pending but we are leaning toward Byzantine or Roman, and it is possible there is an earlier floor below. To have intact structures at this depth shows the amazing preservation levels that characterize the Mt Zion site.

6. Exposure of several well preserved 2nd Temple period vaulted chambers likely containing mikvot (ritual baths) and storage areas, similar to what was found by Avigad in the Jewish Quarter. After three weeks of hard work the extensive fill above one barely visible 2nd Temple period vaulted chamber has been removed, allowing access to the room above and its preserved walls, with the floors just centimeters below. Several chambers leading far below the visible structures are now visible and we have indications of multiple vaults under the debris and fill still to be removed. We anticipate going into these vaults and chambers before the end of this season, with the mysteries beyond awaiting us. Since these remains are better preserved than some of those in the Jewish Quarter (Burnt House and Wohl Museum), our anticipation at what might be found, remaining from the Roman destruction in 70 CE, is quite high.

In addition to these highlighted finds we have uncovered multiple coins, intact lamps, ceramic and glass vessels, bits of jewelry, and so forth as one might find in any excavation of ancient Jerusalem from this period.  We have also found two crosses from the Byzantine period. We also collect all bones, metal, and glass fragments, mosaic pieces, plus carbon and plaster samples for dating purposes.

Our dig schedule has been full with many visitors from the archaeological community stopping by to take a look at what we are finding as well as tourists and other groups who happen to come by. We have also had invited lectures for our students and staff from a distinguished roster of experts including Zvi

Greenhut, Tina Wray, Rafi Lewis, Jodi Magness, Tsvika Tsuk, Boaz Zissu, and Joe Zias—as well as your very own Shimon Gibson and James Tabor.

Our dig was shortened from six to four weeks due to financial constraints but we are discussing possibly extending things into a fifth or sixth week, contingent on funding, since we are poised this fourth week just over the well-preserved remains from the 2nd Temple destruction of Jerusalem, with chambers, several tabun (bread ovens), and other features emerging.  It seems important to enter these chambers this season rather than waiting for a year. A skeleton team of volunteers is willing to stay on if we can manage to work this out.

Funding has been extraordinarily tight this season with North Carolina state funds frozen entirely and many donors feeling the pinch of the recession. In order to complete our season, plus a minimum of conservation and post-excavation work, we have inaugurated a Web fund drive (http://digmountzion.com/information/Donations.html) to raise $50,000 by August 31st and we are about 1/3 there. Gifts have ranged from $25 to $3000, with the average around $100. I hope you will join this fund drive and pass on the word to others. I think by pulling together a few hundred of us can easily meet our goal.

Today, Sunday, June 14th we officially inaugurated our 2009 excavations at Mt Zion. There was an air of excitement as our little band of six staff and 30 dedicated volunteers, gathered to clear the site of its winter foliage and wash. Our team this year is drawn from around the world with members from the United States, the UK, Russia, South America, and a half dozen other countries and regions. Our team threw themselves avidly into the first day’s work, even in the blazing heat of the middle of June. The site looks transformed in appearance even after one day–and we have four weeks to go! We truly are expecting great things this year, including descending down in to well preserved intact rooms and chambers from the 2nd Temple destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE.

We are the only academic dig in Jerusalem in the past 30 years, offering a field archaeology school with full academic and scientific methods and oversight. We are also committed to preserving, not destroying, all levels of habitation in Jerusalem, the spiritual capital of the Western world, whether Turkish, Crusader, Arab, Byzantine, Roman, Jewish, or Canaanite. Our site, situated on the slopes of Mt. Zion, the highest peak of the “seven hills” of Jerusalem, has the advantage of sloping down to the south east and thus preserving a chronological record of “Jerusalem through the Ages.”

I have mentioned in previous posts that it costs a minimum of $90,000 to run a dig for a season, and given our recession, and a freeze in state funding through UNC Charlotte, we have less than half of what we need. I have had several people write and ask–why is archaeology so expensive? I can tell you it is not the wages paid to our students–they get none, but actually pay to dig with us–plus all their expenses. It is not the salaries of the staff–there are none. Most archaeologists sacrifice their time and energy as a labor of love and commitment to the field. It sort of gets in one’s blood. The costs almost all have to do with the logistics of soil moving and disposal, especially in an urban area, vehicle rentals, supplies and materials, tools and equipment, storage and curation of artifacts, and scientific tests. Even $90,000 is a lean budget and does not include conservation and post-excavation costs as explained in this report.

For example, today we had a large earth moving front loader with a fleet of trucks lined up to remove one meter of modern garden fill around the parameters of our site.  Five days works comes to $10,000, and that is just the beginning, as we will have multiple truckloads of soil removed over the next four weeks, as we carefully dig back through the the stratigraphic layers.

I hope readers of my Blog will consider joining our Web fund drive. I think the only way to fund archaeology during the recession is to take it to be people. We have raised nearly $10,000 with 91 contributers just in the past couple of weeks, but our drive seems to have stalled a bit since June 11th when I left to travel over here to Israel. Please join us and be a part of this historic and exciting endeavor by going directly to the Dig Mount Zion and “Pitching In” at any amount. You can also follow our progress there.

How does one fund an archaeological excavation in a serious recession?

In just over two weeks from now, on June 14, we will begin our 2009 season of excavating at our Mt Zion site. Although we are just outside the present Old City Wall, outside Zion Gate, we are actually well inside the ancient walls of Jerusalem, in fact the spot we are digging is pretty much “center city” as things were 2000 years ago.

The three questions I get most often when I lecture on our Mt Zion excavation are: 1) How do you choose where to dig and what are you hoping to find? 2) How do you get permission to carry out an excavation? 3) What does it cost to run an archaeological dig and who pays for it?

That this area of Jerusalem even exists without modern buildings over it, allowing us to excavate, and that it is well preserved due to centuries of debris, truly makes this one of the most exciting excavations in Israel. This summer we will be coming down upon Roman period ruins and uncovering layers that have been untouched since the destruction of the city in 70 AD/CE by the Romans! I can’t think of a more exciting place to dig. We are truly privileged to have our connection to this site through Dr. Shimon Gibson, based on his history of working in Jerusalem.

Our Mt Zion dig is also the only academic excavation, sponsored by a university (UNC Charlotte), taking place in Jerusalem. Most excavations these days are carried out by the Antiquities Authority or other institutions using hired workers, but we actually run a field school for four weeks, with academic credit available. In order to dig anywhere in Israel one must obtain various permits. It is a complex process, with various political ramifications, and nothing is guaranteed.  Excavating in Jerusalem is even more complex because one must deal with several entities, including the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Parks Authority, and the Jerusalem municipality. The good news is that we have everything now arranged for 2009 and are ready to begin.

I am also pleased to report that we have 50 participants officially registered to join us as “team members” spread over the four weeks. This is really quite extraordinary in these economic times when it would be easy to postpone participation in a dig like this to another year. The people coming are diverse in age, background, and experience and judging from the applications we could not have put together a better group. Their enthusiasm and dedication is contagious and exciting.

So with everything in place how are things funded? And more specifically, how do you fund an archaeological excavation during an economic recession? Even though things are very tight, with a spending freeze in place in many states, including North Carolina, we still find there are lots of loyal donors and friends of our Project who want to help us with funding. In order to reach beyond our present very dedicated donor base we have initiated a Web Funding Drive. So far it is going very well indeed and we invite readers to take a look.

If you go to our main Web site (http://digmountzion.com) you will find the “Pitch In” logo on the opening information page, as well as at our Donations link:

http://digmountzion.com/information/donations.html

You can make a secure donation on-line instantly by using a Paypal account or a credit or debit card. It is not necessary to open a Paypal account to use this service. If you prefer to write a check you should make it to The Foundation for Biblical Archaeology and mark it “Mt Zion 2009,” mailing it to TFBA, 2659 Freedom Parkway, Suite 307, Cummings, GA 30041. All contributions are tax deductible and you will promptly receive a receipt. Also, TFBA does not take any overhead to act as our vendor in this way, for which we are very grateful to Sheila Bishop, founder and president. That means 100% of what is given goes directly to our excavation costs.

Also, our main Web site is rich with information about the dig, its history, photos, and videos, see http://digmountzion.com. There is lots to browse and quite easy to get “hooked” on this exciting Project.

Thanks to Mark Elliot and the editors of the newly revived Web site Bible Interpretation for carrying a featured article on the latest report on our very exciting Mt Zion excavation in Jerusalem. You can read the report with pictures here. Bible Interpretation was, in my view, one of the finest sites on-line and it is great to see it back, up and running.

For more general information on the upcoming 2009 Dig Season at Mt Zion, as well as full reports, videos, pictures, and a history of this important excavation see our main Web site:

digmountzion.com

We accept volunteers of all ages and walkd of life and students from any accredited college or university in the United States can enroll for academic credit. Please write me directly with any questions or comments: jdtabor@uncc.edu

In the fall of 1963, just into the first season of the famed Masada excavation conducted by Yigael Yadin, human skeletal remains of 25 individuals were discovered in one of the caves just below the southern edge of the fortress. The following is my full summary of what we know about these bones and what still remains to be determined. In subsequent posts I will bring readers up to date with some fascinating recent developments but this post offers an in depth look at the basic facts to bring my readers up to speed on the subject:

The Discovery
The Masada “Cave of the Skeletons” (loci 2001-2002) was first mentioned in Yigael Yadin’s preliminary report Masada: First Season of Excavations 1963-64 (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1965), pp. 90-91. This volume contains a short report by Yoram Tzafrir who was the supervising excavator for the locus. The cave is the westernmost of a row of caves below the southern cliff of Masada. It is elongated, with its western half designated locus 2001 and its eastern locus 2002.

Tzafrir reported (based on Dr. Nicu Haas’ evaluation) that 25 skeletons were found in this cave: 14 males, 6 females, 4 children and one foetus. The women were all ages 15-22 years; the men were aged 22-60, one being over 70, and the children were 8-12 years of age. Six of the men, aged 35-50, were of a powerfully built, distinctively different physical type from the rest. Tzafrir writes that the cave was rich in material remains: juglets, cooking pots, fragments of mats, food remains. The bodies were in disarray, as if tossed in heaps, with fragments of clothing throughout.

Cave on the South Face of Masada
Yadin also relates the find in chapter 15 “The Remains of the Last Defenders” in his popular illustrated book Masada: Herod’s Fortress and the Zealots’ Last Stand (Jerusalem: Steimatzky’s; 1966, pp. 192-199). His book includes a photo of a portion of the cave floor with a some of the skeletons visible (pp. 198-199). Yadin reports, also basing his summary on Dr. Nicu Haas’ examination, that 14 were males between 22-60, one is a man over the age of seventy; 6 are females between 15-22; 4 are children between 8-12, plus the embryo. His enumeration appears to separate the 14 males aged 22-60 from the single man over 70, thus making 15 adult males and bringing the total skeletons to 25 plus the foetus. It remains unclear whether there were a total of 25 skeletons including the foetus (Tzafrir) or 25 plus the foetus.

Neither Yzafrir nor Yadin report when the Cave was discovered and cleared out. Both conclude that the remains are those of the defenders of Masada, ruling out that they were Romans or later Byzantine monks, based on Dr. Haas’ conclusion that most of the skulls matched the type discovered in the Bar Kochba caves in Nahal Hever.

If this was truly Yadin’s conviction, it is puzzling that these extraordinary finds in Cave 2001 were never reported to the press. In contrast, when three skeletal remains (a man, woman, and child) were found in the Northern Palace in late November, 1963, Yadin called a press conference and excitedly reported his find of the very bones of some of the Jewish defenders of Masada. I have now been able to determine, based on confidential sources, that Cave 2001 was discovered and cleared in late October, 1963, just one month earlier, making it all the more puzzling that these bones were not mentioned at that time, or at least when those of the Northern Palace were reported in November. Neil Silberman, in his definitive study of Yadin titled A Prophet from Amongst You (1993), makes the point that Yadin’s Masada efforts were very much driven by ideological factors and that finding human remains of the Masada defenders was a central part of his agenda—in order to confirm the heroic account of Josephus (see pp. 278-281). One can only wonder what reaction the discovery of these 25 skeletons caused on the part of Yadin and his senior staff at the time. The Jerusalem Post published regular stories throughout the dig season on what was being found–however, a thorough search of all these accounts indicates that nothing was reported about the contents of Cave 2001. The Post ran a special “Masada Section” written by Yadin on November 27, 1964 as the second season of the excavation began. In it he reports on his sensational finds of the first season, including the mosaics of the palace, the scrolls, the synagogue, the mikvas, and even the three skeletal remains of the “defenders” in the Northern Palace. Curiously, no mention is made of the skeletons found in Cave 2001. Further, the Illustrated London News published an even more extensive report with photos by Prof. Yadin on October 31, 1964, and once again Cave 2001 and its contents are not mentioned, while the three skeletons found in the Northern Palace are highlighted (pp. 693-697). The only press account I have found that mentions the Cave 2001 finds is a report on the press conference that Yadin held following the second season’s excavation (November, 1964-April 1965), published in the Jerusalem Post on March 28, 1965. He laments that only 28 skeletons had been found at Masada, leaving the mystery of what happened to the more than 900 others that Josephus claims died there in April, 73 C.E.

The Burial Controversy
A major public controversy regarding the skeletal remains from Masada erupted two years later. Following the publication of Yadin’s popular book on Masada in 1966 (reviewed in the Jerusalem Post, Dec 23, 1966), Agudat Yisrael MK Shlomo Lorinez mounted a vigorous protest in the Knesset, bewailing the fact that these Jewish defenders had never been given a proper burial (Jerusalem Post, March 23, 1967). Lorinez charged that cynical archaeologists and medical researchers were violating Jewish law and that according to his sources, some of the skeletons had even been sent abroad. Yadin’s defenders in the Knesset replied that the research was necessary to determine as accurately as possible the identity of these remains, whether Jewish, Roman, or Christian.

Dr. Haas’ research apparently continued over the next two years as the question of when and where to re-inter the Masada bones became more heated. Yadin was strongly opposed to the plans of the Religious Affairs Minister and the Chief Rabbis to bury all the remains in the Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives. He argued that only the three found in the Northern palace were most certainly Jewish, and that the identity of the remaining 24 (this is the number reported in the Jerusalem Post story, March 11, 1969 based on Yadin’s statement), which had been found “in a cave” was uncertain, though they were probably Jews. This position starkly contradicts the view he expresses in his book, namely that “they can be only those of the defenders of Masada” (p. 197). Yadin wanted these remains to be buried quietly in the cave where they were found. A hastily appointed Ministerial Committee ruled on March 23, 1969, that all the bones found at Masada would be buried at the site and plans were made accordingly. The burial took place on July 7, 1969, near the tip of the Roman ramp (this description of the location, taken from news reports, does not make clear the precise location of the site). Chief Chaplain of the Army Rabbi Shlomo Goren officiated at the ceremony, which included full military honors. Prof. Yadin read part of Josephus’ record of the final speech of Eleazar, Jewish commander of the defenders of Masada in 73 C.E. Various dignitaries were also present, including MK Menachem Begin. It should be noted that the press reports consistently refer to 27 skeletons, three from the Northern Palace and 24 (rather than 25) from the southern Cave (see Jerusalem Post, July 7, 1969).

One significant sidelight to the 1969 controversy was Yadin’s revelation, reported in the Jerusalem Post on March 4, 1969, that animal bones, including pig bones, were found among the remains in the Cave. In a 1981 interview with Post reporter Benny Morris, Yadin said that he told the chief rabbi Yehuda Unterman back in 1969 that he could not vouch for these bones being Jewish since “the pile of bones found in the cave on Masada’s southern face were mixed together with bones of pigs” (Jerusalem Post, November 11, 1981).

Finally, on September 4, 1994 a new tomb for the Defenders of Masada was unveiled. Funded by the National Parks Authority, the monument has twelve stones signifying the tribes of Israel and is located at the foot of the Roman Ramp on the northwest side of the fortress (Jerusalem Report, Sept 5, 1994). It was not revealed whether the remains were moved or disturbed by this operation but one assumes they were left in their 1969 location.

Carbon-14 Dating
Despite all the questions regarding whether the bones found in Cave 2001 were Jewish or not, Prof. Yadin later asserted, in the same 1981 interview with Morris, that Carbon-14 tests were never carried out on these remains nor on those found in the Bar Kochba caves. He said it was not his business to initiate such tests. In the same interview, anthropologist Patricia Smith said Carbon-14 dating was expensive and that facilities to carry it out in Israel had only recently become available, so such tests were done infrequently in the past. The subject had come up in connection with assertions that the Bar Kochba skeletons, found in Nahal Hever, were actually from the Chalcolithic period. The latter were subsequently buried in Nahal Hever on May 11, 1982 with a State funeral officiated by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren and attended by Prime Minister Begin.

N. B., A preliminary check of the journal Radiocarbon indicates Yadin did indeed send materials to the lab in Cambridge, England from the Bar Kochba caves during 1961-63, and that others in Israel (e.g. Pesach Bar Adon) used the lab of the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington, D.C. for the same purposes during this period (see Radiocarbon 6(1964), p. 134; 4(1962), p. 70). In fact the tests were relatively inexpensive, running only about $150 per sample even as late as 1981.

In 1991 Joseph Zias of the Israel Antiquities Authority initiated a C-14 test of woolen textile from Cave 2001 at the Weizmann Institute. The results came out 77 C.E. (+/- 37), indicating the probability that these were remains of the Jewish defenders of Masada (see Jerusalem Post, Sept 20, 1991 as well as the Addendum, “Human Skeletal Remains from the Northern (sic) Cave at Masada—A Second Look” by Joseph Zias, Dror Segal, and Israel Carmi, Masada: Final Reports, Vol. IV, pp. 366-367).

The Nicu Haas Examination
The Masada skeletal remains were apparently in the control of Dr. Nicu Haas (Dept. of Anatomy, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School) from their discovery until their re-interment in July, 1969—a period of over five years. Dr. Haas never published anything on these remains. Dr. Haas lapsed into a coma due to a fall in January, 1975 and died in November, 1987. He is best known for his work on the Giv’at ha-Mivtar/Jerusalem skeletons, which included the remains of the Roman period “crucified man” Yehochanan (see his detailed anatomical report “Anthropological Observations on the Skeletal Remains from Giv’at ha-Mivtar” Israel Exploration Journal 20 [1970]:38-59; as well as the revisions by Joseph Zias and Eliezer Sekeles, “The Crucified Man from Giv’at ha-Mivtar: A Reappraisal,” Israel Exploration Journal 35 [1985]:22-27). Although aspects of Prof. Haas’ work on human remains have been criticized and his failing health hampered his work over the years, his published articles demonstrate his general ability to produce detailed reports and analysis with drawings, tables, and statistical measurements. That he never published even a preliminary report on the results of the Masada skeletal remains is regrettable. Joseph Zias reports that in cleaning out Prof. Haas’ office and files following his death he discovered nothing in the way of notes, drawings, or analytical data relative to the Masada remains. A subsequent search by Alan Paris of the Israel Exploration Society and Associate Editor of The Masada Reports, in response to my own 1994 queries in this regard, has produced a few notes on the Masada skeletons that were found stored in the attic of one of Dr. Haas’ relatives which I now have. They are currently being analyzed by several Israeli forensic anthropologists.

1. The first six volumes of the Masada: Final Reports have now been published by the Israel Exploration Society. Other than a map which shows a drawing of the outline of Cave 2001 (Vol. III, p. 489), there is no information, discussion, or even mention of either the human or material remains of this locus in these volumes—including textiles, lamps, ostraca, basketry. This is despite Tzafrir’s recollection that the cave was “rich” in material evidence. Volume III does contain one notation in this regard: “Both the caves, surveyed and excavated in 1963-65, and this cistern [locus 2006] will not be included in the present report and will be published separately” (p. 499). It is not clear whether the editors mean Cave 2001/2002 will not be included in that particular volume, or in the Masada reports on the whole. In September, 1994 I closely questioned Israel Exploration Society director Joseph Aviram regarding plans to publish a full report on the contents of this cave. He referred me to Associate Editor Alan Paris, who following some preliminary inquiries, informed me that to his knowledge the IES had no information or data on this locus (photos, drawings, written reports, notes) and he was aware of no concrete plans to cover the subject in the Final Reports.

2. In September, 1994 I also presented the same basic query in written form to Israel Antiquities Authority director Amir Drori. He replied to me by letter, dated October 6, 1994, that his information was very limited and he could not be particularly helpful, but suggested I contact editors Foerster and Netzer, as well as Yoram Tzafrir. Recently I learned, through Dan Bahat, who was a field supervisor at Masada, that Drori had actually assisted Tzafrir in cleaning out Cave 2001, so one can only assume that he would be in a position to respond firsthand to most of the questions I raised.

3. When one examines the commendably detailed volume published by Yadin, The Finds from the Bar-Kochba Period in the Cave of the Letters (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1963), with its lavish information on every aspect of that cave’s contents, including that of the skeletal remains (photos, tables, drawings, scientific analysis), one can only wish for the same regarding Cave 2001/2002 at Masada. Given that we know virtually nothing about these skeletons, information even marginally equivalent to the details of Dr. Haas’ work on the Gi’vat ha-Mivtar remains would be most welcome. How can it be that a discovery of such significance was not carefully recorded (photos, drawings, field notes) and at least the results of Dr. Haas’ work on the human remains preserved or published?

4. For reasons that remain unclear it appears that Yadin was reticent to publicize and explore the significance of the skeletal remains of Cave 2001/2002. Perhaps he suspected they would turn out to be Roman or Christian? Perhaps the pig bones bothered him? Yet it should be recalled that Yadin mentions these animal bones quite openly to the Chief Rabbi in 1969. Surely the material evidence in the cave, as Tzafrir noted in his preliminary report, indicated nothing later than the period of the 1st Revolt. Why was this discovery not excitedly reported as Yadin had done in the case of the three skeletons found in the Northern Palace just one month later? Surely both the in situ evidence, as well as the subsequent anatomical analysis, might have indicated much of scientific interest about who these people were and how they died. And most intriguing of all, what about the single skeleton, laid out in burial fashion? Given our complete lack of data, we can not even determine which of the 26 he/she was (male, female or age). Surely this phenomenon alone deserves careful analysis and discussion, yet it was never even mentioned or reported in an already sparse set of references to Cave 2001 over the past 30 years. Many additional questions remain. Were these remains Carbon-14 dated prior to the Zias test in 1991? Were any bones shipped abroad as MK Lorinez charged? If so, where and for what purpose? What information now exists about the contents of Cave 2001—whether photos, drawings, notes, tape recorded sessions, or lab reports, and in whose hands? We can only hope that the present query will give rise to various sources of information that have been preserved so the impact and significance of this vital discovery will not be completely lost.