Archaeologists have found four Roman swords and a hilted weapon known as a pilum dating back 1,900 years in a cave near the sea in Israel. As it is written CNN According to the statement of the Israel Antiquities Authority, it was stated that the find was made in the En Gedi nature reserve. A rare weapon stash was found here, hidden in wooden and leather scabbards.
According to the authors of the research paper published in the book New Research on the Archeology of the Judean Desert: A Collection of Papers, the weapons were likely war spoils taken from the Roman army by Jewish rebels.
First, pieces of processed wood were found that turned out to be a pilum and scabbard. They were discovered by chance in an isolated and inaccessible cave on the rocks. The discovery was made by archaeologists studying the fragmentary ink inscription on a stalactite.
After that, they excavated and found four more swords “in an almost inaccessible crevice in the upper level of the cave”.
“Extraordinarily well-preserved” swords were found alongside pieces of leather, wood, and metal. The three swords had iron blades in wooden scabbards 60-65 centimeters long. The researchers noted that the fourth had a length of 45 centimeters.
“The fact that the swords and pilum were hidden in deep crevices in an isolated cave north of An Gedi implies that the weapons were taken as trophies from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield and were deliberately hidden for reuse by Jewish rebels,” Eitan said. Klein is one of the directors of the Judea Desert Research Project.
Later excavations discovered a bronze “Bar-Kokhba” coin dated to 132-135 AD, which can also be dated to the swords found. During this period, there was the Bar Kokhba Revolt, also known as the Second Jewish Revolt, in which Jews rebelled against Roman rule in the region.
Formerly in the Judean Mountains to create Cave of ancient sorcerers.