WATCH: Ancient weapon cache hidden by Jewish rebels in southern Israel discovered

A 1,900-year-old cache of weapons was unearthed in a cave in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, in Israel’s Judean Desert.

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority say the cache included swords, wooden and leather scabbards for the blades, and a shafted pilum weapon.

Experts say the weapons were Roman in origin, but had been seized by Jewish rebels and hidden in the cave for future use.

“The hiding of the swords and the pilum in deep cracks in the isolated cave north of Ein Gedi, hints that the weapons were taken as booty from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield, and purposely hidden by the Judean rebels for reuse,” says Dr. Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project.

Israel Antiquities AuthorityIsraeli archaeologyJudean Desert