Chalcolithic Treasures: Nah\al Mishmar

The Cave of the Treasure

Inspired by the discovery of the first Dead Sea Scroll in 1947, archaeologists scoured the natural caves that spot the wadis, or dry river beds, adjacent to Qumran. Inside a remote cave overlooking Nah\al Mishmar, archaeologist Pesach Bar-Adon and his team of searchers discovered over 400 cultic artifacts—most were copper, with some ivory and hematite—dating to the late Chalcolithic period (c. 3500 B.C.E.). Above, Bar-Adon examines the cache, found wrapped in the reed mat beside him, in what came to be called the Cave of the Treasure.