Te'omim Cave is a large karst cave located in the western Jerusalem Hills. The cave features a main hall approximately 50 × 70 meters, a deep vertical shaft, additional chambers and ramifications and a natural spring.
Recent surveys and excavations documented archaeological remains spanning the Neolithic to Ottoman periods. Three phases merit particular attention.
The Middle Bronze Age quarrying operation extracted over 200 m³ of flowstone for calcite-alabaster production. U-Th dating indicates quarrying ceased before 1500 BCE. This represents the first identified calcite-alabaster quarry in the southern Levant. The discovery necessitates reconsideration of the provenance of alabaster vessels previously attributed to Egyptian sources.
Evidence from the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 CE) includes three coin hoards, weapons, and pottery deposited in the cave's inner chambers by Jewish insurgents. One hoard contains 83 silver coins restruck by the rebel administration.
Over 120 oil lamps from the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods (late 2nd-4th centuries CE) were recovered from narrow crevices throughout the main chamber, particularly near a deep pit and spring. The deliberate placement of lamps in difficult-to-access locations suggests ritual deposition rather than utilitarian use. Parallels from Greco-Roman sanctuaries and the cave's topographic features—including a water source and deep vertical shafts—support interpretation as a cultic site, possibly associated with chthonic deities. The cave's Arabic name and local fertility traditions may reflect continuity from Late Antique practices.

First Author: Boaz Zissu

Keywords:
Karst cave
Calcite-alabaster quarrying
Late Roman cult
Ritual deposition
Bar Kokhba Revolt
Jerusalem Hills