The Bar Kokhba hiding complexes are underground hideout systems built by Jewish rebels and their communities in Judaea and used during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) against the Roman Empire. The hiding complexes are believed to have played a significant role during the revolt, particularly in Judea proper. Functioning as hiding places during times of emergency, these systems facilitated defense strategies and guerrilla warfare tactics. Researchers distinguish among the concealment complexes between those constructed in conjunction with the revolts, which include hiding complexes and cliff shelters, and a different category, the natural refuge caves used as ad hoc hiding places toward the end of the wars.
By 2005 hiding complexes had been identified in over 100 settlements across Judea, mainly concentrated in the Shephelah, Hebron Hills, and Beit El Mountains, with fewer in Galilee. Most of these complexes were strategically located beneath or near homes in settlements. Some were established in preparation for the revolt, while others were built during its course. A few of these structures, though smaller and less intricate, date back even earlier to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73).
Carved into the rock – primarily the limestone and chalk typical for the region – the complexes comprised interconnected chambers linked by narrow passages. These complexes typically feature entrance shafts, rooms, halls, ventilation shafts, and various amenities such as locking mechanisms, lighting systems, sanitation facilities, and provisions for water storage. This architectural design allowed inhabitants to conceal themselves while maintaining essential functions for survival and warfare.
Exploration and study The refuge systems were known to locals for hundreds of years and were first systematically investigated by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) in the 19th century. Their dating to the Bar Kokhba revolt was determined only in the late 1970s, and as of 2008, only a few of them have been thoroughly investigated. In the Shephelah, for example, less than a quarter of all known refuge systems have been examined and mapped. According to the researchers, most of these refuge complexes were used or prepared by Jews for times of distress, matching those during the revolts against the Romans in the Roman period.
Types and location In total, over 300 concealment complexes were known as of 2011, discovered near about a hundred settlements and sites in the Shephelah, and in about thirty-five settlements in Galilee.
In a summarizing study published in 2019, Yinon Shivtiel summed up the research in Galilee and pointed to hundreds of what he calls "cliff shelters", and over 74 "hiding complexes" throughout the Lower Galilee that are identical to those in Judea.
Background
About sixty years after the First Jewish–Roman War that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Simeon bar Kokhba led yet another revolt, with the goal of expelling the Romans from the Land of Israel and rebuilding the Temple. The revolt lasted for three years, and initially the rebels achieved great success, even gaining the support of the sages of the generation, led by Rabbi Akiva. As time passed, the revolt was crushed. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed, and the Jewish community in the Land of Israel was destroyed.
The rebels operated mainly in the Shephelah and to a lesser extent in Galilee, and in the years preceding the revolt they engaged in comprehensive and serious planning. They collected weapons and hewed hiding complexes, in which they would live and from which they would go out to attack during the revolt, as described by the Roman historian Dio Cassius.History of the Romans 69:12.
The hiding complexes served as bases for surprise attacks on camps of Roman soldiers, and also as hiding places in case of a Roman siege on the settlement. The rebels would emerge at an agreed upon day and hour, attack nearby legion camps, and flee back to their starting points. The assumption is that the "convenient places of the land" in Cassius' description are the hiding bases from which the rebels emerged quickly to seize important strategic positions, which gave them a significant advantage for continuing the fighting.Mordechai Gichon, 'Ha-hebet ha-tsevaʼi ʻal mered Bar Kokhba ʻal pi ḥeḳer maʻarkhot ha-mistor', in Katedra 26, pages 30–31.
Sources, dating and location Only two historical sources describe institutionalized hiding in the Land of Israel: the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus describes the Jews hiding from the Romans during the Great Revolt in the 1st century, and Cassius Dio describes their hiding during the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century. A meticulous review of the refuge systems shows that they are almost identical in their shape, size, and in the technology used by the hewers in both the Shephelah and Galilee, indicating the work of one guiding hand that built them.Kloner, Amos, '"מערכות המסתור בשפלת יהודה" ("Maʻarḥot ha-mistor be-Shiflat Yehudah", (Hideout Systems in the Judean Shephelah)"], in Katedra 26, pp. 4–23 (in Hebrew). Their dating to the Bar Kokhba revolt relied on the historical testimonies, and especially on their location and the findings discovered in them.Mor (2016), pp. 235–238.
All the hiding complexes in the Shephelah, and most of the systems in Galilee, were hewn into ancient underground complexes dated to the Hellenistic and Early Roman period, and were at least 100–200 years old when integrated into the refuge systems. The latest ones were hewn in the 1st century, meaning also before the Bar Kokhba revolt, perhaps from the time of the Great Revolt.Mor, Menahem (2016). The Second Jewish Revolt: The Bar Kokhba War, 132–136 CE. Boston, pp. 210–230.
Potsherd and vessel finds in rooms and halls (not in tunnels) have all been typologically dated to the second half of the 1st century, and the first half of the 2nd century CE (between 50 and 150 CE), through comparison to similar ceramic and stone vessel finds from Jerusalem, Masada and the desert hideouts in the Judean Desert. For numismatic findings, see below under "Coins".
In the Shephelah, the hiding complexs stretch from the drainage basin of Nahal Modi'im and the Ayalon River in the north, to southern Shephelah and the slopes of Mount Hebron in the area of Gush Etzion. They stretch a strip about 70 kilometers long from north to south, with an average width of about 15 kilometers.Zissu, Boaz and Kloner, Amos. The Archaeology of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome (The Bar Kokhba Revolt), p. 41.
In Galilee, the area of the refuge systems is smaller, concentrated in eastern Galilee, from the Sea of Galilee in the east to the northern slopes of the Gilboa mountains in the south.
Findings The ceramic and numismatic finds (coins) in the hiding complexes are meager and disorganized, due to extensive antiquities looting.Mor (2016), p. 221.
Pottery As mentioned in the "dating" section, much of the pottery findings have been dated based on their typology, as they were found to be similar to ceramic and stone vessels from Jerusalem and the Judean Desert dated to c. 50-150.
Coins
Dozens of coins have been discovered in the hiding complexes, the vast majority from the various years of the Bar Kokhba revolt (the year of the revolt appears on each coin). Many coins from the Bar Kokhba revolt have also been discovered in settlements under which hiding complexes were dug out, as well as Hellenistic, Hasmonean and Early Roman coins, all pre-dating the Bar Kokhba revolt. In some sites a small find of coins from the Great Revolt has also been discovered.Zissu, Boaz and Eshel, Hanan (2013). Coins and Hoards from the Time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, Hoards and Genizot as Chapters in History, Hecht Museum Catalogue no. 33, pages 31*-39*.
Many of the Bar Kokhba coins found in hiding complexes are actually "recycled Roman coins": the rebels overstruck Roman silver coins, thereby invalidating them. Such spolia has been found on coins of Emperor Nero and up to Hadrian, as well as local coins of Ashkelon and Gaza. Researchers Amos Kloner and Yigal Tepper believe that most Bar Kokhba coins that reached the markets following looting originate from the refuge systems, but this cannot be scientifically proven.
The relatively short period between the Great Revolt and Bar Kokhba Revolt makes accurately dating the installation of the hiding complexes difficult. However, the finds indicate they were certainly used during the latter revolt. Because of this, and because of the difference in historical descriptions between Josephus and Cassius Dio, most researchers believe that the hiding complexes were installed by Bar Kokhba's people, while a minority (Gideon Foerster for example)Foerster, Gideon. Maʻarkhot ha-mistor mi-yeme Bar Kokhba?, in Katedra 28, p. 156. claim it cannot be proven that they did not reuse hiding systems from the time of the Great Revolt. In any case, all agree the refuge systems were used by Jews in their revolts against the Romans in the Roman period. Since hiding complexes have only been discovered under settlement remains and not between them, it can be deduced these settlements were Jewish at that time. Therefore, it is not surprising that some flourished and thrived until the 2nd century, and after that, probably following the revolt's suppression, suffered serious damage.Zissu, Boaz and Kloner, Amos. The Archaeology of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome (The Bar Kokhba Revolt), p. 45.
Weights
Weights known to have been used during the Bar Kokhba revolt indicate the existence of an orderly central government with an orderly administrative system. Of the seven weights found, six originated in the antiquities market, and only one was discovered in an archaeological survey, published by Amos Kloner. The lead weight was found in 1987 in an underground hiding complex at Horvat Alim near Beit Govrin. It weighs 803 grams, decorated with stylized roses and surrounded by an inscription in square Hebrew script: "Shimon son of Kosba, Prince of Israel and his redemption of Jerusalem". A rosette is depicted in the center of the weight.Kloner, Amos. "Lead Weights of Bar Kokhba's Administration", Israel Exploration Journal 40 (1990), pp. 58–67. In the article, Kloner mentions another weight purchased in 1967 for the Eretz Israel Museum and stolen from there in 1976. The weight was around 400 grams. Until Kloner's finding of 1987, it was unknown that this weight belonged to the Bar Kokhba period. It too had an inscription in square Hebrew readable as "Shimon son of Kosba and his redemption of Jerusalem", with a rosette in the center.
Construction strategy Most of the Shephelah consists of soft chalk rock, covered by a hard crust called caliche, up to two meters thick. The soft chalk was very useful for Shephelah residents in all periods, especially the Hellenistic period, as it allowed them to quarry their building stones near the building site rather than in a distant quarry, reducing construction costs. To avoid unnecessary effort hewing the caliche layer, locals made narrow openings in it, expanding the hewn-out spaces once they reached the soft chalk. The unique structure of wide spaces with stable, narrow openings, allowed maintaining the chalk's moisture content, preventing its disintegration. These spaces, still abundant in the Shephelah, are called bell caves. These artificial caves were used by residents as storerooms and underground facilities for a wide variety of uses like cisterns, storage rooms, winepresses, columbaria, stables, and more. The extensive use of such underground facilities brought about thousands of caves and pits in the Shephelah area.