Redeciphered First Temple inscription may shed light on biblical ‘Valley of Salt’
Quest to use multispectral imaging on an ancient inscription on stalactite in remote cave near Ein Gedi has surprising side effect: The discovery of four Roman soldiers’ swords
It’s not often that a researcher has occasion to combine a love of caving with a passion for ancient biblical Hebrew graffiti. So when Ariel University lecturer Dr. Asaf Gayer proposed a fun outing to his geologist colleague Boaz Langford to do just that, it was already promising to be a momentous trip.
The time was ripe to re-photograph a known paleo-Hebrew inscription in a cave near Ein Gedi, Gayer suggested. This time, the partial inscription — painted on a stalactite with carbonite ink circa the 7th century BCE — should be photographed using multispectral imaging. Such imaging has already done wonders to reveal invisible text on pottery sherds and other engravings. Who knows?
The duo decided to invite Israel Antiquities Authority photographer Shai Halevi to join them in their quest and they went to the cave and completed their mission.
Before leaving the cave, however, Gayer decided to perform a short archaeological survey, checking in nooks and crannies.
“When one goes into a cave, there’s always a feeling that you’re going to find something,” he told reporters on Wednesday at the unveiling of the four 1,900-year-old Roman swords that were discovered there.
Realizing you have a piece of history in your hand is simply wonderful… you feel your heart beat faster, your blood pressure goes up… This is why we’re in this business,” he said.
But while the discovery of the extremely rare swords grabbed all the headlines, Gayer’s new reading of the First Temple period inscription is also of note.
CSI Ein Gedi
In 1973, Ofra Aharoni, an instructor at the Ein Gedi Field School, came across the three-line First Temple period inscription in a cave with two levels of single chambers that are filled with stalactites.
After a short excavation of the caves in 1974 (which overlooked the swords), the inscription was published in 1975 by Pessach Bar-Adon. His article in the Israel Exploration Journal was illustrated by photographs taken by members of the Criminal Identification Unit of the National Police Headquarters — the 1970s version of CSI.
In 1975, explained Gayer on Wednesday, Bar-Adon deciphered the text as reading: Blessed is God (Ad-nai) / Blessed XXX / Blessed is God (El-him). [my altering]
Gayer had a hunch that with even a few more letters discovered through modern high-tech imaging, he may be able to make a little more sense of it.
The trio of cave explorers photographed the inscribed stalactite from numerous angles. The numerous photographs aid in overcoming the rock’s rough and curved surface. But still, the results were only partial.
He stated that he was able to clearly see the Hebrew letters bet, gimmel and yud following the word “Blessed,” along with a word-dividing dot that is typical of the First Temple era. Gayer’s reading of the word is “in the valley,” writing valley in a variant spelling that appears several times in the Bible.
After this breakthrough, using tedious manually programmed computer imaging, Gayer attempted to reconstruct other partial letters. What he believes he can safely hypothesize is that the following word is heh, mem, lamed and het or, in English, “the salt.”
The locale the “Valley of Salt” appears in several biblical texts, including 2 Samuel 8:13 and Psalms 60:2 — spelled in the variant found on the stalactite. Both of these instances are in relation to King David, who in the psalm gives thanks to God for his acts that led to victory in the Valley of Salt.
While biblical scholars generally consider its location to be in the region of the Dead Sea, “having an external source that tells us about the area right above the Dead Sea” is significant, said Gayer.
Gayer presented his initial findings at an IAA conference on Wednesday night and will publish an academic article after further research.
But on Wednesday, as reporters milled about the IAA’s impressive new Jerusalem headquarters, Gayer waxed poetic when suggesting who wrote this blessing and why.
“Maybe it is in thanksgiving for surviving in this rough region,” he said.
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I must admit that the timesofisrael does cover some exciting archaeological news and other historical findings from time to time. https://www.timesofisrael.com/redeciphered-first-temple-inscription-may-shed-light-on-biblical-valley-of-salt/
AND FROM THE JEWISHPRESS
“ The weapons were found inside a secluded cave tucked away in a remote and inaccessible area north of Ein Gedi, inside the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Authority. Remarkably, some fifty years ago, this same cave had yielded a stalactite with a fragmentary ink inscription in ancient Hebrew script from the First Temple period.” […]
“Dr. Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project, remarked, “The concealment of these swords and the pilum in deep crevices within this isolated cave north of Ein Gedi suggests that these weapons were likely acquired as booty from Roman soldiers or the battlefield. The Judean rebels purposefully hid them, perhaps to avoid detection by Roman authorities. Our research is just beginning, and we aim to unravel the mystery of who owned these swords, as well as the circumstances surrounding their manufacture and the historical events that led to their concealment in the cave, possibly during the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE.”
“An archaeological excavation was conducted inside the cave by the IAA after the discovery of the swords, led by Eitan Klein, Oriya Amichay, Hagay Hamer, and Amir Ganor. The cave was meticulously excavated, revealing artifacts from both the Chalcolithic period (approximately 6,000 years ago) and the Roman period (approximately 2,000 years ago). A Bar-Kokhba bronze coin from the time of the Revolt was found near the cave entrance, potentially indicating the period when the cave was used for concealing the weapons.
“Amir Ganor, Director of the Antiquities Looting Prevention Unit at the IAA and one of the Directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project, reflected on the significance of this discovery: “The Judean Desert continues to amaze us. After six years of surveys and excavations, during which we systematically recorded over 800 caves along a 170 km cliff line, we continue to unearth new treasures. Unfortunately, we encountered many caves that had been looted since 1947. It is chilling to think of the historical knowledge that would have been lost had the looters reached these amazing artifacts before the archaeologists. This time, thanks to the national project initiated by the IAA, we managed to beat the looters and preserve these fascinating finds for the benefit of the public and researchers worldwide.”
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/archaeology-news/judean-desert-sensation-cache-of-weapons-from-roman-period-stashed-in-a-cave/2023/09/06/
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