Speleology In Artificial Cavities

2015 / Roberto Bixio - Andrea De Pascale - Kadir Pektas / Researches of Centro Studi Sotterranei of Genoa (Italy) /
Proceedings of the VI International Scientific Conference " Speleology and spelestology". Naberezhnye Chelny State Pedagogical University, Naberezhnye Chelny (Republic of Tatarstan - Russian Federation), pp. 117-128

Researches in Anatolia of Centro Studi Sotterranei of Genoa (Italy)
2017 - Proceedings VIII International Scientific Conference ‘Speleology and Spelestology’, Naberezhnye Chelny State Pedagogical University (NGPU), Naberezhnye Chelny, pp. 117-129

2015 (in Russian) Cappadocia an uderground district  (Peschernyj Region Kappadokiya)
In Dolotov Y. (Ed.), Caves of  Cappadocia, Kursor publisher, Kharkov, pp. 83-96

Summary of the investigations conducted by Centro Studi Sotterranei (Centre for Underground Studies) in the underground sites of Cappadocia, from 1991 to 2000, with a typological classification and an urban analysis of the rock-cut structures, accompanied by maps of the Nevşehir district.

As OBRUK Cave Research Group, we began to search cave dwellings on the bank of Euphrates River, in southeastern Turkey, during April 2013. Our research is between Halfeti and Gumuskaya villages. There are two dams on Euphrates on the region: Ataturk Dam, 145 km north of Halfeti, and Birecik Dam, 55 km south of Halfeti. Because of this second dam, the water level of Euphrates raised 20 meters, with a width up to 500 meters in some areas. In this region the river is flowing through the Eocene limestones, and there are hundreds of dwellings carved in those soft limestone walls. Those structures are mostly to the north of Halfeti, reaching up to Gumuskaya Village, near Ataturk Dam. Especially 2 km north of Halfeti, on both banks of Euphrates there are tens of artificial cavities around Rum Kale. Rum Kale, also known as " Hromgla " , was mentioned in Assyrian scripts and was the capital of Armenian Church for 90 years until 1293, when conquered by the Mamluks. We are planning to survey the whole rock settlements within this 35 km stretch of Euphrates, from Halfeti up to Gumuskaya Village. In addition to cave dwelling villages, we had explored and surveyed several underground churches in this area. During our survey project, each artificial cavity has been marked by GPS, photographed and surveyed. Till today, four explorations have been realized and a total of 73 rock settlements in 64 different points, three of which are church or monasteries have been found, 33 of which have been surveyed and mapped. In this presentation, in addition to the surveys of previously unknown cave dwellings and underground churches, the major aim of this project will be explained in detail.

The region known as Cappadocia and located today in the borders of four provinces, has witnessed continuous settlement from prehistoric times up to now. Tuffaceous rocks spewing out of the active volcanos in the late Pliocene and Pleistocene period in the region were used for many different purposes such as houses, barns, churches, etc. There are even underground cities for shelter and defence. Yet, one of the most interesting underground artificial caves of the region is, without any doubt, the tunnel, which is supposed to be used to divert Kızılırmak River (antique name Halys), located in Sarıhıdır Village near Avanos. The aim of digging the tunnel should have been to build a ford or a shallow point in order to cross the main stream of Halys. The age of the tunnel is unknown but a text from Herodotus reports the use of a deviation of Halys by Croesus’ army in 550 BC to attack the city of Pteria, in the Persian kingdom of Cyrus. The conception is attributed to Thales. Its location helps to precise the geography of the road network in the Antiquity. During the exploration of the whole area, 16 different dwellings located above the deviation tunnel were also explored and surveyed. Three of these dwellings were natural caves which were partly fitted out and inhabited. Among the remaining 13 artificial dwellings, a large caravanserai (or a guarding post), several cisterns and graves are important items to mention.

Publication Date: 2014

2012 / Andrea De Pascale - Roberto Bixio - Vittoria Caloi / In Crescenzi C., Caprara R. (a cura di/Eds) The rupestrian settlements in the circum-Mediterranean area (volume Ricerca finale CRHIMA-CINP project, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, pp. 191-205

Central Anatolia had been affected by the intensive volcanic activities which began 10 million years ago. That eruption phase, which continued even until historical times, piled up more than 100 m of tuff and ignimbrite around Cappadocia. The volcanic rocks were dug by the local people and a great variety of underground settlements were built into the rocks. Antique Caesarea which is known as Kayseri today was the capital of ancient Cappadocia; its underground structures, churches, cave dwellings of Kayseri have not been extensively investigated yet. Around Caesarea, which had been the cradle of Christianity in Anatolia, there is an immense amount of cave dwellings and underground structures. Agirnas is a small village, 15 km east of Caesarea. Establishment date of the village, which is the birthplace of Sinan, the most important architect of the Ottoman Empire during the 16 century, is unknown. Underground of this village is like a cobweb, nearly all the underground shelters below the old houses are interconnected to each other. In addition to this gigantic underground structural system of Agirnas Village, there are tens of cave dwellings in Akbin Valley, 700 meters west of the village. It is thought that some of these structures, dug in the walls of the valley which continues from Agirnas to Dimitri Village for 3 km, were built as Roman rock graves. It is not possible to determine the date and aim of the original dwellings due to their continuous usage for centuries by redesigning , and the destruction caused by the erosions on the valley walls. As OBRUK Cave Research Group, our research within the framework of " Kayseri Underground Structures Inventory Project " started with the underground settlements in the village. Even though it is not possible to determine the first construction date, it is obvious that this structural complex is more than 500 years old and it shows us that the village has a gigantic underground structure dug below the houses with a purpose of defense. Then we continue with Akbin Valley Cave Dwellings survey. We present here a brief conclusion about the hypogea of this village, describing the underground sites and cave dwellings of Agirnas Village and their historical transformation of usage during the centuries.

Riassunto
Il sito di Belmonte (Castelnuovo di Porto, Roma) si presenta ancora ben conservato e ricco di fascino. È situato in posizione dominante alla confluenza del Fosso di Costa Frigida e del Fosso di S. Antonino ed è caratterizzato da uno stretto ed allungato altipiano sul quale svetta una torre medievale diruta. Le pareti vallive, subverticali e con andamento a gradoni, ospitano una fitta macchia entro la quale si celano numerose
“grotte” altomedievali ed una serie di cunicoli idraulici di epoca molto più antica (probabilmente etrusco-falisca) destinati al controllo delle acque. Fra questi uno presenta un anomalo deposito concrezionale che è stato oggetto di studio da parte del Dipartimento Scienza della Terra dell’Università di Bologna. Dopo l’inquadramento storico, geografico e geologico dell’area di Belmonte, vengono dettagliatamente illustrati gli ipogei artificiali esplorati e rilevati dal Centro Ricerche Sotterranee Egeria tra il 2001 e il 2011.
Parole chiave: cunicoli idraulici, insediamenti rupestri, Belmonte, Castelnuovo di Porto.
Abstract
Artificial cavities in Belmonte settlement (Castelnuovo di Porto, Rome, Italy)
The settlement of Belmonte (Castenuovo di Porto, Rome) is still well preserved and full of charm. It is located in a dominant position at the confluence of the Brooks of Costa Frigida and of S. Antonino, upon a narrow and long plateau over which rises a ruined medieval tower. The almost vertical, terraced hillsides are covered by a thick brushwood, inside which many Early Medieval caves are found, together with a system of
much older hydraulic tunnels (likely Etruscan-Faliscan) intended to control water circulation. One of these tunnels shows an anomalous concretion deposit, under study by the Department of Earth Sciences at Bologna University. After a brief review of the main historic, geographic and geologic features of the territory, we describe in detail the artificial hypogea explored and surveyed by the Center for  Underground Researches Egeria between 2001 and 2011.
Keywords: hydraulic tunnels, rocky settlements, Belmonte, Castelnuovo di Porto (Rome, Italy).

Abstract
In 1999, urged by a resident of Cisterna, we began a speleological investigation in the area between Cisterna di Latina and Cori. First, we explored the natutal Cave of San Biagio. Near the cave entrance, two old lime kilns, likely related to the exploitation of the nearby travertine    quarries, convinced us to undertake detailed researches of possible artificial underground structures. Our interest was excited by the almost total absence of findings in the area, in contrast with the many historical and literary references. The investigations allowed the identification of a good number of hypogea of anthropic origin.
Since April 2011, thanks to the agreement between the municipality of Cisterna and the Italian Commission for Artificial Cavities SSI, our Association, also for geographical proximity, has been studying the Grotte Caetani. The renewal of the investigations in the area was the starting point for other explorations, still in progress. Here we publish the results of the studies already completed, divided into: natural caves,large and small artificial caves.

The article presents the results of the exploration under the project “Exploration of the caves of Mount Athos as integral part of the world natural, cultural and historical heritage” under the patronage of Euro Speleo Projects - European Federation of Speleology.
During two expeditions carried out in 2011,2012, 2013 and 2014  the international team of cavers form Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Turkey explored 155  caves with total length 1.500 m. The caves wewre  divided into three main categories - caves associated with the lives of Saints, cave chapels, caves-cells, usual and sea caves and artificial caves (water catchments and reservoirs).

SINTESI L' Antro delle gallerie è un complesso minerario, presumibilmente di epoca rinascimentale, che si sviluppa all'interno dell' Alpe Cuseglio in Valganna, nella provincia di Varese. Il sito si caratterizza per la complessità della sua struttura ipogea, unitamente all'accuratezza dello scavo. Nonostante sin dalla sua scoperta, a fi ne del XIX secolo, sia stato oggetto di notevole interesse da parte di vari ricercatori, sinora non è stato portato a termine uno studio accurato ed un rilievo planimetrico completo. Nella presente pubblicazione vengono illustrati i risultati della campagna di ricerca condotta da un team formato da componenti di due gruppi speleologici, il Gruppo Proteus Speleosub ed UNEX Project, attivi nel campo dell'archeologia sotterranea e della speleologia in cavità artifi ciali. Tale campagna di ricerca, durata tre anni, rappresenta il completamento di precedenti attività di studio ed esplorazione avviata anni prima ad opera del Gruppo Proteus Speleosub. L' obiettivo dello studio è stato quello di documentare la struttura del sito rilevandone topografi camente ogni sua parte per produrre una planimetria, completa e dettagliata, ed un modello tridimensionale. Nel volume vengono identifi cate le diverse aree funzionali del complesso e sono descritte le tecniche di avanzamento ed organizzazione della coltivazione mineraria. Ciascuna parte è illustrata nei diversi aspetti e nelle sue strutture più caratterizzanti. L' organizzazione spaziale e la tecnica di scavo adottate evidenziano una netta similitudine con analoghi complessi minerari coltivati in epoca rinascimentale nelle aree minerarie Europee maggiormente sviluppate e attive in tal periodo storico. La condizione attuale del complesso ABSTRACT Th e ' Antro delle Gallerie' is an underground mining structure, likely dating to the Renaissance, hidden inside the ' Alpe Cuseglio' in Valganna, in the province of Varese. Th e site is characterised by the complexity of its hypogean structure and the care taken in the original excavation techniques. Even though it has been the object of great interest on the part of several researchers since its discovery at the end of the nineteenth century, until now no accurate study and complete planimetry has been carried out. Th is publication presents the results of a research campaign carried out by a joint team drawn from two speleological groups, the Gruppo Proteus Speleosub and the UNEX Project, which are both involved in hypogean archaeology and speleology in artifi cial cavities. Th eir research operations lasted three years, and represented the completion of previous study and exploration activities started some years before by the Gruppo Proteus Speleosub. Th e target of the study was to document the site structure by topographically surveying each of its parts, in order to create a complete and detailed planimetry and a 3D model. Th e present volume identifi es the various functional areas of the complex and includes a description of the progress and organisational techniques of the exploitation of the site as a mine. Each part is described in terms of its diff erent aspects and it most characteristic structures. Th e structure of the site and the excavation techniques used evidence a very close similarity with other mining complexes dug in the Renaissance period in the more developed and active European mining areas of that historical period. Th e present condition of the hypogean complex has been altered INTRODUZIONE L' Antro delle gallerie, sin dalla sua scoperta, è stato sempre oggetto di interesse e curiosità per la sua morfologia particolare e complessa e per l'assenza di memoria e documentazione storica della sua esistenza e del suo scopo. Tali aspetti hanno accresciuto l'alone di mistero attorno a tale complesso ipogeo ed acceso l'interesse di generazioni di archeologi, geologi, storici e speleologi che si sono avvicendati nella sua esplorazione. Tale interesse non ha però prodotto, parallelamente, ricerche complete o di livello adeguato all'interesse destato, limitandosi a resoconti di esplorazioni e, spesso, a riproporre quanto fatto in precedenza da altri. Unica eccezione a tale panorama è l' opera di Mario Frecchiami, priore della Badia di Ganna, che ha prodotto il primo rilievo suffi cientemente completo della cavità. La sua attività di ricerca è stata però condizionata dall' essere stata avviata al solo scopo di corroborare una propria teoria relativa ai materiali lapidei d'arenaria con cui la Badia era stata in parte costruita. Nel panorama di generale mancanza di ricerche organiche e complete si ritaglia un degno spazio l'azione esplorativa, costante e protratta per alcuni decenni, dello speleologo varesino Ivo Scacciotti il quale ha completato la conoscenza del sito rendendo possibile l'accesso a varie diramazioni, rappresentando un punto di riferimento per la conoscenza di tale complesso. Con tali premesse nei primi anni 2000 l'autore ha iniziato una campagna di ricerca che ha coinvolto speleologi lombardi di varie provenienze consentendo la realizzazione di un primo, seppur parziale, rilievo tridimensionale di tale ipogeo e di documentare adeguatamente le parti studiate. Successivamente a tale prima campagna di ricerche la costituzione di un nuovo team di ricercatori ha dato avvio a una seconda campagna di esplorazione e studio di durata triennale che ha consentito di completare e migliorare il rilievo topografi co tridimensionale e documentare quanto noto ed accessibile dell' Antro delle gallerie, con particolare attenzione agli aspetti salienti ed alle strutture caratteristiche di tale sito minerario. Il presente volume conclude la campagna di ricerche su tale ipogeo, anche se il team di ricercatori che l'hanno sviluppata proseguirà la sua attività estendendo il campo d'indagine all'area geografi ca in cui il complesso minerario è collocato, approfondendo alcuni aspetti che si ritengono essere connessi con esso. XXIV

2015 (in Russian) Cappadocia. Records of the underground sites (Kappadokiya: protokoly peschernyx obskektov)
In Dolotov Y. (Ed.), Caves of  Cappadocia, Kursor publisher, Kharkov, pp. 97-112

Record relating to the underground site of Derinkuyu, in Cappadocia

Neogene (upper Miocene-lower Pliocene) coquinoid limestone occurs at a small depth from the surface near Kamenolomnya village in 7 km to the North-East of Yevpatoria in Saki district of the Republic of Crimea. In the late 19th – early 20th centuries its production was conducted in this area. Mamay mines are the most remarkable monument of history of this period in the vicinity of Yevpatoria.
The most famous pages of the Mamay mines history are associated with the Russian Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. The partisan group named «Krasnie Kaski» («Red helmets») was based in
the mines in November 1918 – January 1919. The use of the mines by the partisans during The Great Patriotic War is confirmed by numerous finds made mainly during the study of the mines the “Poisk”
mine research club from Odessa in 1981.
Mamay mines do not have status of a monument of history and culture nowadays. The crosssection of rocks opened by the mines also has no status of a monument of nature. Ongoing mining of limestone near Kamenolomny village can destroy Mamay mines.
This report tells about results of recent studies of Mamay mines in 2018–2019 and planned activities for their study and conservation.

2020 / Andrea Bixio - Roberto Bixio - Andrea De Pascale /
chapter:
Underground hydraulic systems and anthropogenic cavities in Cappadocia
in the book:
Güllüdere and Kızılçukur: the Rose Valley and the Red Valley in Cappadocia, editors Patrizia Boschiero and Luigi Latini, Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche/Antiga, Treviso, pp 130-141

Abstract
Description of ancient systems of reclamation and water supply excavated by man in the rocks, identified and documented in Cappadocia (Central Anatolia) by the team of the Centre for Underground Studies of Genoa (Italy) over the last 30 years. The chapter is illustrated by photos and topographical surveys.
The article is a part of a book entirely dedicated to the landscape and the rock-cut churches of the two valleys of Güllüdere and Kızılçuku in the Göreme area, the most important site in the heart of the rock district. The 18 chapters were written by several hands, by various experts in different disciplines, in the context of the "International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens 2020-2021" instituted and organized every year since 1990 by the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche of Treviso (Italy).

Los pozos como prospecciones hídricas son típicos, excavados o perforando el terreno hasta alcanzar el nivel freático, y su cometido de todos conocido no da lugar a comentarios. Los aljibes como depósitos de recogida de aguas pluviales también están perfectamente definidos. Pero los pozos-aljibe, son menos frecuentes, y las peculiaridades de sus características, dignas de ser  estudiadas.

The city of Gaziantep, located in southwestern Turkey, is built entirely on a soft Upper-Middle Eocene aged limestone. This argillaceous and chalky limestone formation, which is fairly easy to carve into, has determined the city's development and character in many aspects. This stone has also affected local architecture as it was used as main building element by cutting. When a building was to be built, the soft rock area where the building was to be placed upon was cut out as blocks in depth, and the rock blocks obtained were used directly for the construction. The emptied area served as the basement of the building built on top. While initially fairly soft, this rock would soften and change color as it came in contact with air. On the other hand, in addition to the underground dwellings carved to provide stone for the buildings, Gaziantep hosts gigantic underground quarries caused by great amounts of rock being removed. These were used later on for a variety of purposes such as factory or hovels. Three of these underground quarries in Gaziantep have been explored and surveyed and their later uses are explained in detail in this article.

ARCHIVAL DATA ABOUT TWO CAVES IN ORYOL AND UFA PROVINCES: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL ASPECT.
The events of the late 19th – early 20th centuries, connected with the caves in Oryol and Ufa provinces of the Russian Empire, are described in the paper. The cave in Oryol province was situated in Livensky County near the village of Krutoe. Here local children observed the monk praying in a cave. The cave in Ufa province was located in Menzlensky County in the village of Sobolekova (nowadays it is Nizhnekamsk district of the Republic of Tatarstan). Anastasia Antonova observed relics of Saints and an unextinguishable icon lamp in this cave. These events are considered by the author according to psychological and social points of view.

INTERRELATION OF PEASANT COMMUNITY, CHURCH AND THE STATE WITH REFERENCE TO CREATION AND FUNCTIONING OF KOSTOMAROVSKY CAVE COMPLEX IN PODONYE (THE MIDDLE OF XIX – XX CENT.). The article presents in detail the history of creation and development of Kostomarovsky cave complex in Podgorensky district of Voronezh region on the basis of archival records found out by the author. The author pays special attention to interrelation of the cave creators community with the state and church authorities. It is concluded that the cave temple, made in the chalk hill by the peasant community, became the center of people’s religiosity. The attempts to formalize it by means of dedication service had been encountering opposition within the 20th century from the Church as well as from the government who were in fear of independent civil communities that could gather around the temple and be uncontrolled. The peasant community of settlement Kostomarovo which created the caves in the middle of 19th century manages to make here a people’s monastery only one century later. However, by that time due to changes in peasants’ lifestyle throughout Soviet history, neither a rural community nor a common vestry of the Russian Orthodox Church had played a prominent part in the spiritual life of a village in the late 20th century. Having lost the basis of social support in the context of the new persecution against the Church, the people’s attempts to create an official monastery from the cavebuilders community were interrupted. Only at the end of 20th the eparchial authorities established the Svyato-Spassky Convent. It became possible due to the caves that had been seen by the Church as a significant in sacral meaning locus of the surrounding area.

Ḥorvat `Ethri is situated in the Judean foothills, 5 km. south of the Elah Valley and 8 km. northeast of Beth Guvrin. The site was occupied from the 4th century BCE to the beginning of the 5th century CE. Five distinct phases were exposed. Presented here is a decorated burial chamber, utilized during the 3rd–4th centuries CE (Phase 5). The chamber, incompletely hewn, was cut into a disused first century CE subterranean complex, located outside the perimeter of the Phase 5 settlement. The complex consisted of two interconnected chambers (A and B). During Phase 5, Chamber B was converted into a tomb. It consisted of a square burial chamber along whose sides are three arcosolia, two with burial troughs and one with a flat shelf. The chamber was looted before the excavations, leaving few finds:  a complete  Ramat Mamre oil-lamp decorated with schematic birds, fragments of a Beit Nattif oil-lamp and a round oil-lamp with decorated discus, indicating usage during the 3rd and 4th centuries CE.
On the façade of two of the burial troughs, schematic motifs were carved in relief. Two round discs appear on Trough 1, resembling round military shields (clipei). The clipeus was a common motif on Roman tombstones and sarcophagi, symbolizing the victorious departed or the victory of the soul over death. Trough 2 has a schematic relief of a three-legged funerary kliné (lectus funebris) with an amphora beneath it. A high rectangular incense altar appears to the left of the kliné. The lectus funebris and the altar are common motifs in Roman funerary art. In addition to the use of the kliné as funerary furniture, it also symbolized the place of the dead and the funeral ceremony and emphasized the social status of the deceased. 
The symbols on the façade of the trough pertain to the Graeco-Roman ritual of presentation of the deceased (πρόθεσις). In this ritual, after the washing and preparation of the body, it was placed on a lectus funebris. The deceased was surrounded by mourners and incense altars were lit nearby. The amphora was also a common symbol in Graeco-Roman funerary art. Parallels to the artifacts portrayed indicate that these symbols occur most frequently in Roman funerary art of the western and eastern parts of the empire, an apparent indication of the cultural background of the deceased and his family.

Although the region known as “Cappadocia” is believed to be in Nevşehir Province of Turkey, the capital of Cappadocia in ancient times was the neighboring antique Caesarea which is known as Kayseri today. As the same in Nevşehir, in antique Caesarea the volcanic tuff which was piled up by the active volcanoes around was dug by the local people. Houses, churches, and protective underground settlements were built into those rocks and a troglodyte civilization had been established. One of the most interesting structures that were constructed by digging into rocks are ‘underground shelters’ which were used for defense and can widely observed across the region. The most significant features of those structures are living spaces and storage rooms interconnected by tunnels excavated underground and the millstone doors used to protect villagers from raiders. Since we started our project to explore and inventory underground settlements of Kayseri Province in January 2014 as OBRUK Cave Research Group, more than thirty previously unknown underground shelters have been explored and surveyed. Following our studies of which some has been presented in different articles and congress presentations, we began our survey in Develi District of this province by this year. Within this poster presentation the underground shelters and cliff dwellings located in Sahmelik Valley of Develi will be briefly described.

It has been long known that Gaziantep, possessing a continuous inhabitancy since 3.000 BC, has hundreds of underground structures carved in sandy limestone. Some of those underground structures were used as storage facilities or cisterns, while some others are as yarn ateliers today. Furthermore, despite forming a huge and complex system, underground water structures, only a small part of which can be researched due to destructions, are another important phase of our project. It is extremely difficult to determine the roots of this extensive, technologically advanced water distribution system. While the section that can be seen above ground is fairly limited, it is difficult not to consider this system as an important engineering achievement for its era. This water distribution system is a network of water canals carved into limestone rock layer, locally known as " livas " , onto which the city was built upon. This system is similar to the one first applied in Persia 2000-3000 years ago and used today in many countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, China and known as " qanat " or " karez " while displaying a set of unique characteristics unique to Gaziantep. The system relies on the principle of distributing water originating from a source far away from the settlement area, by using well designed underground canals with gentle slopes to distribute the water to a large settlement area and by using wells in locations of need or by clear water underground reservoirs known as " qastel ". As a result of our studies, limited length " livas " and all existing " qastel " s were surveyed and mapped in Gaziantep.

The city of Alcudia de Crespins, in the centre of the Valencia province (East of Spain), has an exceptional water distribution system that in the past served fresh water to many houses in the town. This system is formed by more than one km of tunnels and underground cisterns, and dates probably in the late medieval times, while it has been in use and suffering modifications until 1955. This paper presents the structure and characteristics of such exceptional system, and explains the functioning parameters of the infrastructure.

Boaz Zissu, ‘The Ossuary of “Imma, Daughter of Hanania”, and the Second Temple Period Jewish Settlement at Sokho, Judaean Foothills’, in A. Faust – E. Baruch (eds), New Studies on Jerusalem: Proceedings of the Sixth Conference, Ramat-Gan, Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies 2000, 64–74 (Hebrew)

An inscribed ossuary from the first century C.E. found in Jerusalem, informs us about the birthplace of one of the tomb owners – Sokho. Two Judaean cities named Sokho are known from the Bible (Joshua 15: 35, 48; Samuel I, 17:1). One is identified in the Hebron Hills and the other in the Judean Foothills. Sokho is mentioned in the Rabbinic literature as the place of origin of Antigonos of Sokho and of Rabbi Levi the Sokhite.
Archaeological surveys have exposed scanty remains from the end of the Second Temple period at the Hebron Hills' Sokho. An archaeological survey carried by the author at the Judaean Foothills' Sokho revealed remarkable remains from this period: four ritual baths (mikvaoth), an underground hiding complex and various coins. This is the first publication of the results of our survey.
The new discoveries allow the identification of the birth place of the anonymous Sokhite mentioned in the ossuary inscription from Jerusalem with the site in the Judaean foothills. Perhaps this Sokho is also the place referred in the Rabbinic Literature.