Oil Lamps, Spearheads and Skulls: Possible Evidence of Necromancy during Late Antiquity in the Te'omim Cave, Judean Hills

Eitan Klein; Boaz Zissu

doi:10.1017/S0017816023000214

Oil Lamps, Spearheads and Skulls: Possible Evidence of Necromancy during Late Antiquity in the Te'omim Cave, Judean Hills

Eitan Klein, Boaz Zissu

Department of Land of Israel Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Te'omim Cave is a large karst cave located in the Jerusalem Hills. Since 2009, the cave has been explored by our team as a joint project of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Over 120 intact oil lamps were collected in the 2010-2016 survey seasons from all sections of the cave; most of them were dated to the second to fourth centuries CE. All of these lamps had been deliberately inserted in narrow, deep crevices in the main chamber walls or beneath the rubble. Some crevices contained groups of oil lamps mixed with weapons and pottery vessels from earlier periods or placed with human skulls. This article discusses the possibility that the oil lamps, weapons, human skulls, and other artifacts were used as part of necromancy ceremonies that took place in the cave during the Late Roman period, and that the cave may have served as a local oracle (nekyomanteion).

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	399-421
Number of pages	23
Journal	Harvard Theological Review
Volume	116
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816023000214
State	Published - 4 Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The research of the cave, was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant no. 104/2013). Parts of this paper were written by the first author during a stay as a visiting scholar at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. Our gratitude is given to Martin Goodman, head of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. We wish to thank our colleagues: Amos Frumkin, Boaz Langford, Micka Ullman, Roʻi Porat, Uri Davidovich and Ayala Amir for their assistance.

Funding Information:
The research of the cave, was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant no. 104/2013). Parts of this paper were written by the first author during a stay as a visiting scholar at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. Our gratitude is given to Martin Goodman, head of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. We wish to thank our colleagues: Amos Frumkin, Boaz Langford, Micka Ullman, Ro.i Porat, Uri Davidovich and Ayala Amir for their assistance.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s).

Keywords

Roman period
Syria Palaestina
ancient magic
human skulls
necromancy
oracle

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10.1017/S0017816023000214

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Oil Lamps, Spearheads and Skulls: Possible Evidence of Necromancy during Late Antiquity in the Te'omim Cave, Judean Hills

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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