Cave of Letters
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The Cave of Letters is a refuge cave in Nahal Hever in the Judaean Desert where letters and fragments of papyri from the Roman Empire period were found. Some are related to the Bar Kokhba Revolt, incl
Roman army camp above the cave
A scroll found in the cave, part of the Babatha archive
Image of a fragment of one of the biblical manuscripts found in the Cave of Letters
Iron Age house keys found in Cave of Letters, Nahal Hever Canyon, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Bar Kokhba Revolt
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The Bar Kokhba Revolt, also known as the Bar Kokhba War, the War of Betar, and the Third Jewish–Roman War, was the last and most devastating of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire.
Cave of Letters
…refuge cave in Nahal Hever in the Judaean Desert where letters and fragments of papyri from the Roman Empire period were found. Some are related to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (circa 131–136 CE), including letters of correspondence between Bar Kokhba and his subordinates. Another notable bundle of papyri, known as the Babatha…
Detail of Simon bar Kokhba from the Knesset Menorah
Coin depicting the revolt leader's first name, Simon, in Paleo-Hebrew script, alongside a date palm
A Bar Kokhba tetradrachm overstruck on a denarius. Obverse: the Jerusalem Temple façade with the rising star. Reverse: A lulav, the text reads: "for the freedom of Jerusalem"
Obverse: Grapes, the text reads: "year 1 to the redemption of Israel". Reverse: a date palm with two branches of dates; "Eleazar the Priest" around