ממצאים מימי מרד בר-כוכבא במערות קיביא ונעלה שבמערב הרי בית אל

Many Karstic caves, in the western part of the Bethel Hills, were used by the nearby population at various periods for different uses. The first documentation of those caves has been made by the Cave Research Unit, as part of a speleological research. An archaeological survey of two karstic caves was conducted at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, as part of the New South Samaria Survey project (NSSS) in collaboration with the Cave Research Unit. Na'ale Cave and Qibiya Cave are located 6 km apart. Many finds were exposed during the survey, including mainly pottery sherds and coins, suggesting that Jewish refugees hid in them during the time of the revolts against the Romans, especially during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. The exposure of these caves joins the additional refuge caves in Southwestern Samaria, which were recently published: The 'Abud Cave, located 6 km north and east of the Na'ale and Qibiya Caves, 'Arak Batin ej-Jami' Cave, Elqana Cave, and more caves in the vicinity as yet unpublished. The existence of many refuge caves in the western Bethel Hills and not only in the Judean Desert provides further evidence of the active participation of the residents of North Judaea in the second revolt. The numismatic evidence from the Na'ale and Qibiya Caves allow us to clarify historical conclusions about the date of the conquest of this region by the Roman troops during the Jewish revolts.