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Abstract

This study argues for the existence of two types of rock-cut caves in Galilee, which were used by the local Jewish population as hiding places throughout the Second Temple period, particularly during the First (Great) Revolt against the Romans, as may be deduced from Josephus' writings; recently, it became clear that some of these hiding complexes were either prepared or reused in the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The first type, the 'cliff shelter,' is located on steep cliff tops, near ancient Jewish towns and villages, and the second type is the 'hiding complexes,' which are the focus of this study. Dozens of examples of hiding complexes were documented and recorded by the author. The hiding complexes in Galilee are basically similar to those documented in Judea with several unique characteristics. Six categories were defined in this study for the hiding complexes in Galilee: (1) small underground chambers, connected to each other by short, roughly hewn tunnels created for the hiding of a single family; (2) elaborate, smoothed-out hideouts connected to each other by narrow, long hewn and smoothed tunnels; (3) hideouts replacing rock-cut subterranean facilities previously used as storerooms for agricultural produce, cisterns, olive presses and ritual baths; (4) subterranean hideouts replacing burial caves; (5) escape passages; (6) chambers identified in the past as hiding complexes that are now doubtful. This categorization, together with the revised, wider distribution of hiding complexes, supports our initial hypothesis that the Jews in Galilee used subterranean complexes as places of refuge and as hideouts when they faced a real and immediate threat from the Roman authorities.

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