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Ancient pyramid, coins, and weapons: Archaeologists unearth Judean Desert treasure trove
Jerusalem Post ^ | March 25, 2025 | JOANIE MARGULIES

Posted on 03/26/2025 6:03:53 PM PDT by Red Badger

Reseachers uncover a pyramid-like structure in the Judean Desert, photo taken March 2025 (photo credit: JUDEAN DESERT SURVEY UNIT, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

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Experts uncover a massive pyramid-shaped structure, ancient papyrus documents and rare artifacts from Hellenistic-era rule in southern Israel, shedding new light on the region’s history.

An excavation in the Judean Desert unearthed a massive 2,200-year-old pyramid-shaped structure alongside ancient papyri, weapons, tools, and fabrics, which experts are calling one of the richest archaeological excavations in the area.

The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Heritage Ministry, which are jointly leading the dig north of Nahal Zohar, say the findings date to the Hellenistic period, when the Ptolemies and Seleucids ruled the Land of Israel.

Watch the Judean Desert discoveries video below:

VIDEO AT LINK..................

The project, now open to public volunteers, is part of a broader eight-year effort to rescue endangered antiquities in the region from looters and natural degradation.

“This pyramidal structure we discovered is huge and made of hand-hewn stones, each weighing hundreds of kilograms,” said IAA excavation directors Matan Toledano, Eitan Klein, and Amir Ganor.

“Already in the first excavation week, the volunteers found written historical documents, exceptional bronze vessels, and remains of ancient furniture, which, thanks to the desert climate, were preserved in amazing condition,” they said.

Coins of Antiochus Epiphanes IV found in the excavation in the Judean Desert, Israel, March 2025 (credit: JUDEAN DESERT SURVEY UNIT, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

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The excavation directors said the discovery had changed Israel’s historical record.

Among the artifacts recovered so far are Greek papyrus scrolls, bronze coins bearing the faces of Ptolemaic rulers and Antiochus IV, and wooden tools. The structure sits above what appears to be an ancient way station, possibly used along a trade route moving salt and bitumen from the Dead Sea to Mediterranean ports.

The Judean Desert project

The site had previously been assumed to date back to the First Temple period, but current findings suggest it was built centuries later, raising new questions about its original purpose.

“Is this a guard tower for a major commercial route? A monumental grave or ceremonial landmark?” the directors wondered. “It is an enthralling historical mystery – and to our delight, the public coming to volunteer in the excavation are our partners in uncovering the answers.”

The Nahal Zohar dig is part of a sweeping Judean Desert project led by the IAA’s Robbery Prevention Unit, which has surveyed 180 km. of cliffs and identified roughly 900 caves. The operation has uncovered thousands of rare items in recent years – including ancient scrolls, weapons, leather goods, and coins – often using rope access, drones, and cutting-edge documentation tools.

An ancient papyrus found in the excavation in the Judean Desert, Israel, March 2025 (credit: JUDEAN DESERT SURVEY UNIT, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

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“The discoveries are exciting and even emotional, and their significance for archaeological and historical research is enormous,” said Eli Escusido, the IAA’s director.

“Right now, just before Passover and with the onset of spring, I invite the people of Israel to come and participate! In such a challenging time, a few days of discovery in the Judean Desert offer a connective and uplifting experience for everyone,” he said.

The excavation is expected to continue for another three weeks, with volunteers invited to join the effort. An organized camp has been set up to accommodate participants, complete with meals, water, and nightly archaeology lectures.


TOPICS: Education; History; Military/Veterans; Religion; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: alexanderthegreat; amirganor; antiochus; bitumen; bronzecoins; bronzevessels; coins; eitanklein; eliescusido; epigraphyandlanguage; epiphanesiv; godsgravesglyphs; greek; israel; joaniemargulies; judea; judeandesert; matantoledano; nahalzohar; papyrus; ptolemies; salt; seleucids
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1 posted on 03/26/2025 6:03:53 PM PDT by Red Badger
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To: SunkenCiv; Ezekiel; Hebrews 11:6; Jewbacca

PinGGG!!!!!.........................


2 posted on 03/26/2025 6:04:45 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

MORE INFO:

https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/03/more-on-pyramid-and-scroll-finds-at.html

More on the pyramid and scroll finds at Nahal Zohar

ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY UPDATE:

Enigmatic 2,200-year-old ‘pyramid’ near Dead Sea may have been fortress for ancient taxman. Excavations by Israeli archaeologists at the mysterious Judean Desert site reveal artifacts suggesting it served as a post for tax collection and later, a Roman-era tomb (Rosella Tercatin, Times of Israel).
This article on the recently announced discoveries at the Nahal Zohar excavation covers the earlier information and also interviews excavator Dr. Eitan Klein. It has some new thoughts about what the pyramid was for:

“The heap is five or six meters high above the surface of the hill, made of huge stones,” Dr. Eitan Klein told The Times of Israel over a phone interview. “We immediately noticed that someone had dug at the top of the structure, probably looters who had identified the grave.”
“At first, we thought the site could be just a tomb, but later, we noticed the shape of the original walls, and we understood that the structure was a building,” he added. “Eventually, we identified it as a tower or fortress dating back to the Hellenistic period, or 2,200 years ago.” ...

“We know that the main road linking Edom — modern-day Jordan — to Gaza passed directly beneath our structure,” said Klein, co-director of the excavation for the IAA alongside Matan Toledano and Amir Ganor. “We believe the building served to safeguard the road and may have been used by Ptolemaic officials to collect taxes from travelers.”

And more on the scroll fragments:
Although looters reached it first, archaeologists still managed to recover a wealth of organic and inorganic findings, such as papyri fragments inscribed in Greek, wooden tools and fabrics.
While additional research is required to decipher the content of the papyri, Klein said that they might have been part of tax documents.

I don’t know if that is based on already deciphered content or just on the suggested purpose of the building.

There is also more discussion of the coin finds.


3 posted on 03/26/2025 6:08:27 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

4 posted on 03/26/2025 6:10:31 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger
Don't open the Stargate!


5 posted on 03/26/2025 6:11:32 PM PDT by BipolarBob (After my drug test, they either said "Urine Trouble" or You're in trouble". )
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To: Red Badger

Built to collect tariffs, some things never change.


6 posted on 03/26/2025 6:16:29 PM PDT by cookcounty (Uuuuuuhh.)
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To: cookcounty

Death and TAXES................


7 posted on 03/26/2025 6:16:58 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger
Israel is only 8,700 square miles and has been inhabited on and off for thousands of years.

Why hasn’t every square foot of the country been mapped and explored by now?

8 posted on 03/26/2025 6:23:28 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: BipolarBob
Excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority and volunteers, north of Nahal Zohar (Photo: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
9 posted on 03/26/2025 6:23:56 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Why are these artifacts always found in places that look like this?

Because if it looked like people lived there - we’d never find them.


10 posted on 03/26/2025 6:30:00 PM PDT by Empire_of_Liberty
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To: Empire_of_Liberty

This was most likely a military outpost. look at the views from post 9...............


11 posted on 03/26/2025 6:38:10 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Deaf Smith
The Nahal Zohar dig is part of a sweeping Judean Desert project led by the IAA’s Robbery Prevention Unit, which has surveyed 180 km. of cliffs and identified roughly 900 caves.
12 posted on 03/26/2025 6:40:11 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

For thousands of years, that big pile of rocks on a hill was a land mark but no one knew why.


13 posted on 03/26/2025 6:47:47 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: Deaf Smith

We have a local landmark here, called “The Indian Temple Mound”.

It’s a big pile of dirt...............


14 posted on 03/26/2025 6:51:52 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Deaf Smith

My very unprofessional opinion is that it is because people “see” what is in front of them and mostly take it for granted that it has always looked the same. Few people look and think what is 50 ft or 100 ft below what I see? Floods and cataclysms and regular weather over centuries all combine to bury the past. I do agree that the relatively small area should be much more explored and “known”


15 posted on 03/26/2025 6:59:37 PM PDT by 1malumprohibitum (I’m )
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To: Red Badger
identified roughly 900 caves

Thanks for your ping, Mike!

So very many caves in Israel, full of Dead Sea Scrolls and all sorts of odds-and-ends. As the angels watched God fashion all those caves through all those eons, my guess is not one of them ever even imagined the exalted purpose He had in mind for them.

16 posted on 03/26/2025 7:04:40 PM PDT by Hebrews 11:6 (“…all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48)
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To: Hebrews 11:6

Those must be the caves Lot and his daughters fled to ..........


17 posted on 03/26/2025 7:06:58 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Those were the famous Hanky-Panky Caves, where the motto was “What Daddy doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”


18 posted on 03/26/2025 7:30:33 PM PDT by Hebrews 11:6 (“…all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48)
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To: Red Badger

Sacred dirt....


19 posted on 03/26/2025 9:45:03 PM PDT by gundog (The ends justify the mean tweets. )
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To: Red Badger

BTTT


20 posted on 03/26/2025 10:41:11 PM PDT by nopardons
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