The Judean Desert as a Chalcolithic Necropolis

Cave deposits represent a special category of archaeological context that invokes its own set of research questions. The interpretation of these deposits, however, is often based on unfounded assumptions. The idea of ‘cave men’ utilizing caves as domestic space persists to this day, both in the public imagination and in archaeological interpretation. But a cave is not generally a good place to live; the adoption of caves as living space occurs in times of emergency and is short-lived. Yet caves were commonly used for human burial and as the locus of ritual activity. This is strikingly true for the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4500–3600 BC) in the southern Levant. But the idea that people frequently lived in caves in the Chalcolithic persists, bolstered by the presence of quotidian objects excavated in cave contexts. In this study, we focus on Chalcolithic deposits in the caves of the Judean Desert, and suggest that many of them were the loci of mortuary interment and its associated ritual practice. We suggest further that the ‘Ein Gedi sanctuary and the Nahal Mishmar hoard are both associated with the mortuary complex of the Judean Desert.