JERUSALEM, Israel — Archaeologists in Israel announced a rare find on Wednesday, Aug. 6, a cache of well-preserved weapons believed to be almost 2,000 years old.
The Israel Antiquities Authority announced four Roman-era swords, alongside the head of a javelin-like weapon called a pilum, were discovered in a cave near the Dead Sea, with their wooden and leather hilts, scabbards and steel blades still exceptionally intact.
Researchers who published the findings propose the weapons may have been stored in the cavern by Jewish rebels during an uprising against the Roman Empire in the 130s.
The swords were reportedly dated based on their typology, or similarity to other artifacts of the type, and have not yet undergone radiocarbon dating.
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The Associated Press said the discovery was part of the Israel Antiquities Authority's Judean Desert Survey, which aims to document and excavate caves near the Dead Sea to secure artifacts before they can be plundered by looters.
AP stated the cool, arid, stable climate of the caves has allowed "exceptional preservation" of organic remains, including parchments such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient texts believed to contain the earliest known versions of the Hebrew Bible and other ancient writings.
Tel Aviv University archaeologist and Roman military history expert Guy Stiebel said the swords were likely made in a distant province in Europe and brought to Judea by soldiers in the Roman military.
Stiebel said the quality of preservation of the swords was exceptionally rare for Roman weapons.
“Each one of them can tell you an entire story,” said Stiebel. “They also reflect a much grander narrative of the entire Roman Empire and the fact that from a small cave in a very remote place on the edge of the empire, we can actually shed light about those mechanisms is the greatest joy that the scientist can have."
Future research on the weapons will reportedly focus on studying the manufacturing and origin of the materials in order to discover their history and who they may have belonged to.
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