Cave of Letters › Geghard » Ancient origins
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Cave of Letters › Antique Origins
Definition and Origins
Everyone is aware of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but few realise that these were just one find in a region which continues to yield hundreds of finds significant to our understanding of lives in the first centuries CE, the Jewish revolts and the relationships between the peoples involved in the area. The Cave of Letters is one such site in Israel which has yielded a large number of papyrus letters and documents.
DISCOVERY
The Cave of Letters was discovered in Israel in the early 1960s CE and was excavated by the famed Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin from 1960-1961 CE. Yadin devoted himself to research and archaeology upon leaving the military and received the Israel prize in Jewish studies for his doctoral thesis on the translation of the Dead Sea scrolls. Apart from the Cave of Letters, Yadin excavated numerous important sites in the region which included Tel Megiddo, Masada, the Qumran Caves and Hazor. Yadin discovered the cave when he launched an urgent search of the dead sea caves in order to rescue artefacts of historical significance before they were looted by increasing numbers of treasure hunters in the region. The cave may be one of the 64 locations which were inscribed on a copper scroll found in another cave near the Dead Sea village of Qumran. This is believed to be due to the similarities in location and shape of the cave entrances as two columns in addition to the placement of bronze artefacts and stone vessels in the cave which are also mentioned on the scroll.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS
The Cave of Letters was found above a canyon called Nahal Hever. The cave is located in the area of the Dead Sea in the Judean desert and can only be assessed via a 50 ft (15.24 m) climb up to the cave's entrance. During the 1960-61 CE excavations, Yadin uncovered a number of human skulls and bones and common objects of daily life alongside what he believed to be bronze ritual items. Yadin's team also uncovered clusters of papyrus letters which made up the largest cache of ancient personal correspondence and documents ever found in Israel. These letters are slowly being published, a process yet to be completed. Among the letters include correspondence from Bar Kokhba, a messianic leader of the third Jewish revolt against the Romans in the second century CE. Judea was part of the Roman empire but the Jewish people lived uncomfortably with their Roman rulers as a subject nation. Among the documents in the Cave of Letters were found military orders signed by Bar Kokhba as Shimon Bar Kokhba, Simon son of a star.
SURPRISINGLY TO SOME SCHOLARS THE LETTERS HAVE QUITE A HARSH TONE & INCLUDE THREATENING LETTERS TO YEHONATAN WHO WAS THE LEADER OF EN GEDDI.
CONTENTS OF THE LETTERS
Surprisingly to some scholars the letters have quite a harsh tone and include threatening letters to Yehonatan who was the leader of En Geddi. In 2000-2001 CE the archaeologist and Professor of Jewish History, Richard Freund, from the University of Hartford, led a team under the John and Carol Merrill Expedition to find out more about the Cave of Letters. On returning to the cave with an international team of archaeologists and scholars, Freund uncovered new evidence about the use of the cave and located a large number of new artefacts. Freund explains that the Cave of Letters is a massive cave with two openings in the sheer cliff wall with three internal chambers connected by narrow passageways with the cavern complex cutting more than 300 yards (274 m) deep into the cliff-side. Freund had the chance to explore new areas to excavate which Yadin didn't get a chance to. Yadin was unable to explore beneath the thick layer of rubble on the cave floor caused by centuries of earthquakes.In some areas the rubble was as thick at 15ft (4.57 m). Freund also had access to ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography which allowed him to excavate and survey beyond Yadin's means. Freund and Yadin's excavations turned up artefacts that are significant to the history of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity and the politics of the modern Middle East.
One of the most significant corpuses of letters found in the cave are the personal documents of a Jewish woman who lived in the port town of Maoza. This woman was named Babatha. The documents give a vivid picture of the life of an upper-middle class Jewish woman during the second century CE. They date from around 96-134 CE and give examples of Roman bureaucracy and legal systems by including legal contracts concerning marriage, property transfers and guardianship. They show that Babatha was born around 104 CE and inherited her father's date palm orchard. She married for the first time in 124 CE and was widowed with a son named Jesus. She remarried in 125 CE to a man named Judah who already had another wife and a teenage daughter. There are also loan documents showing that Judah borrowed money from Babatha who was clearly in control of her own money. She got this money back upon Judah's death in the form of his estates. Other documents in the Babatha archive include those concerning the guardianship of her son and a dispute between her and Judah's first wife Miriam over Judah's estates.
USE OF THE CAVE
The use of the Cave of Letters is still under some debate but the artefacts are revealing. The most common theory is that the cave was used as a hideaway by Jewish refugees who were escaping oppressive Roman rule. Babatha would have been in the area in 132 CE when Bar Kokhba was performing his revolt. It is possibly that she fled or was killed as the documents in the cave were never recovered and were found alongside 20 skeletons which suggest that she or others perished while taking refuge in the cave. What is interesting about the skeletal remains is the complete lack of signs for violent trauma suggesting that they died of starvation. The cave being used as a refuge is also suggested by signs of animals and cooking preparations including a piece of a circular oven. Freund found a number of items indicative of everyday life including rope and papyrus fragments, fabrics, a wooden comb, signs of living areas and a child's sandal. The sandal is particularly significant because evidence of women and children in the area is rare.
The Cave of Letters also provides direct evidence of Bar Kokhba's early triumphs supposedly with a Bar Kokhba coin found in the AB passage. This is one of eight coins found in the cave. The inscription on the coin reads 'for the freedom of Jerusalem '.Clearly the Cave of Letters is a trove of information and significance.
Geghard › Ancient History
Definition and Origins
Geghard (Armenian: Geghardavank or "monastery of the spear") is a medieval monastery located in Armenia ’s Kotayk province, deep within the Azat Valley, which was built directly out of an adjacent mountain. Geghard is renown throughout Armenia for its medieval art and architecture, and local traditions associate the site with Saint Gregory the Illuminator (c. 257 – c. 331 CE) who came to the area to found a small Christian chapel in the 4th century CE. Geghard's name attests to the former presence of a spear that supposedly pierced the body of Jesus Christ while he was crucified. This is now kept at Echmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat, Armenia. The complex was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 CE.
HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY
Geghard is enveloped by tall cliffs along the Azat River, and the monastery is not too far from the strategic Ararat Plain.Located 30 km (19 mi) from Yerevan, the Geghard is quite near the Temple of Garni - Armenia's only surviving pagan temple- which is only 11 km (7 mi) down the Azat River. Geghard is additionally not too far from the ancient Armenian capital of Artashat and the medieval fortress of Kakavaberd. It is likely that the environs around Geghard were inhabited in prehistoric times, including by the Urartians between the 8th-6th centuries BCE. In pagan times, local inhabitants venerated a spring that emerged from the cave that today forms part of the monastery. It is for this reason that Geghard is sometimes referred to as "Ayvirank," which in Armenian means "Monastery of the Cave."
Geghard Monastery Cut from Rock
Over time, Ayvirank grew from being a small chapel into a monastic community. The monastery is attested by ancient and early medieval Armenian historians, although the remains of Ayvirank have not survived the ages. In the 8th and 9th centuries CE, Arab invaders pillaged Ayvirank, destroying unique manuscripts, libraries, and burning down the multiple religious edifices of which comprised the monastery. Although Ayvirank was ruined, in time, a new monastery would be rebuilt in its place: Geghard.
Inscriptions within the complex insinuate that construction on the main church of Geghard - Katoghike - ended around the year 1215 CE. This church was commissioned under the patronage of two Armenian princes: Zakharia and Ivan. However, it should be noted that the oldest inscriptions at the complex are located within the small Chapel of St Gregory, and they date to the 1170s CE. When Queen Tamar (r. 1184-1213 CE) reconquered much of Armenia from the Seljuk Turks and other Turkic tribes in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, she helped stimulate a brief golden age of artistic splendor and cultural production in both Armenia and Georgia. Geghard flourished, as a result, from c. 1200-1400 CE when it was a popular destination for Armenian and Georgian Christians. Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi and Simeon Ayrivanetsi - Armenian historians who pioneered innovative techniques in Armenian manuscript art - lived and worked at Geghard in the 13th century CE. Geghard was called the "monastery of the seven churches and the monastery of the forty altars" during its medieval heyday.
GEGHARD WAS CALLED THE "MONASTERY OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES AND THE MONASTERY OF THE FORTY ALTARS" DURING ITS MEDIEVAL HEYDAY.
Pilgrims came to Geghard mainly to see the sacred spear that touched Christ and was brought to the Caucasus by the Jude the Apostle (d. 70 CE). He is usually identified with Thaddeus and sometimes called "Jude Thaddaeus" in Christian texts. For 500 years, this spear was visible at the monastery. Other relics attributed to the Apostles John and Andrew entered the Geghard treasury in the 12th century CE, and they were equally venerated and revered. Georgian and Armenian nobles, as well as the Proshyan princes, patronized Geghard, donating immense riches and sums of money to the monastery. As Geghard grew wealthy, it began to function as an ecclesiastical and cultural center with a scriptorium, several schools, and a library. Other religious structures were built in the 13th century CE, and further living and economic structures were built in the 17th century CE, the latter of which are now in ruin.
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Geghard is built into solid rock in an equal-armed cruciform fashion. More than 20 buildings were carved directly from the side of the mountains, and these structures include tombs, chapels, vestries, and churches. More specifically, Geghard consists of eastern and western churches cut from rock, a tomb complex belonging to the Proshyan princes, the tomb and chapel of General Papak and Ruzukan (the generals who captured Geghard for Queen Tamar of Georgia), a cathedral, and an adjacent narthex. There are also old monastic dwelling cells and countless khachkars (memorial stele with a cross) around Geghard.
Three Khachkars at Geghard Monastery in Armenia
The main church, Katoghike, has a cruciform layout, which was typical of medieval Armenian architecture. A defensive wall, which dates from the 12-13th centuries CE, encircles and protects the area to the south, east, and west of the monastery, while the cliffs and mountains protect the area to the north. The interiors of the buildings at Geghard are ornately decorated.Many feature carvings of various wild animals, flowers and other vegetation, and complex geometrical patterns rendered in high relief. Among the most elaborate carvings is that of a lion attacking an ox, which was symbolic of the Proshyan princes' authority and munificence. On the internal walls of Geghard, there are numerous inscriptions recording the names of patrons and those who provided donations to individual churches or chapels.
Geghard represents the apogee of achievement in medieval Armenian art and architecture. Its stunning natural location, innovative architecture, and rich decor greatly influenced the subsequent trajectory and course of medieval architecture in Armenia.
This article was made possible with generous support from the National Association for Armenian Studies and Researchand the Knights of Vartan Fund for Armenian Studies.
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