The cave of the warrior : a fourth millennium burial in the Judean desert

Cave No. 13, known as the 'Cave of the warrior' , was discovered during an extensive survey of rock shelters and caves in lower Wadi el-Makkukh in the Jericho area. At first sight there was no indication of human activity in the cave, but a Hasmonean coin found inside the cave triggered a trail excavation which soon revealed significant organic remains under the upper sediments. The finds, associated with human burial, soon revealed the skeleton of 'The Warrior'. The objects associated with the so called 'Warrior' as well as the remains of an earlier, fifth millennium BCE burial, consisted primarily of objects made of perishable materials such as plant fibers, reed, wood and leather. Undoubtedly, the perishable objects, as well as the skeleton of the deceased, were well preserved due to the favorable conditions prevailing the small cave. The finds presented an unprecedented opportunity to study raw material, technologies and contexts that are rarely preserved in the archeological record, and to appreciate that high level of accomplishment that had been attained in various fields of craft. A burial assemblage of such antiquity, and particularly the bow and the group of textiles, is for the presents unique not only in Palestinian archeology but on a much wider scale. An Israel Antiquities Authority publication. 136 Pages. English. Softcover. 1998.