Stone vessels' cave

Stone vessels' cave is a man-made underground quarrying and stone vessels manufacturing complex, dating to the Second Temple period. It is located east of Mount Scopus, beside the road leading from Jerusalem to Ma'ale Adumim.

The cave was discovered in the summer of 1999. During the construction of a new road connecting Jerusalem to Ma'ale Adumim, a bulldozer created an opening in the cave ceiling, exposing a huge underground complex carved in chalkstone.

Description
The underground complex that was discovered is of two caves consisting of halls and chambers. From the Hasmonean dynasty onwards, there was an increase in observance of Jewish religious practice in the Land of Israel and specifically Jerusalem. Therefore there was more use of stone vessels as according to the Torah and the Halacha they do not contract impurity. Such tools were discovered in highly Jewish populated areas throughout the Land of Israel, as well as quarries in Judea, Transjordan, Galilee and the Golan heights.

Cave I
The first cave covers an area of 4000 sqm. Near the entrance the ceiling is 4m high while at its rear it is 2m high. Due to its large size and the soft nature of chalkstone, pillars were cut in even distances to prevent the collapse of the cave's ceiling. This divided the cave to large halls and chambers. Along the walls were stone shelves which held oil lamps for the illumination of the inner and darker parts of the cave. Near the cave's entrance are four small hewn rooms which probably served as workshops.

Cave II
The second cave is smaller than the first, it is 24m in length and 17m wide, covering an area of 1000 sqm. Pillars and columns were carved into this cave too, but the height of the ceiling gradually increases the farther it is from the entrance. On one of the pillars the Greek letters 'ON', 'IN' were written in charcoal and between them a delicate drawing of a flower, similar to those found on ossuaries and tombs of that period.

Excavation findings
Within the cave a wide range of defective stone vessel were found, all discarded after being damaged during production. For the first time ossuary fragments were found within a manufacturing site. Other stone vessel findings included table vessels, delicate vessels and large storage jars, known as "Kallals".

In addition to the stone vessels, 4 coins were found in the caves. The most ancient one dating to 54 CE, impressed by Roman Procurator Antonius Felix, and three dating back to the Great revolt: one coin from the second year of the revolt, 67/8 CE, and two from the third year of the revolt, 68/9 CE. All the findings in this underground complex are evidence that the cave was active throughout the first century up to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

This discovery possibly sheds some light on the 1910 discovery of an inscription in a burial cave at Bet Phage. The inscription, engraved into an ossuary cover, includes twenty three names, and next to each name a small amount of money. These names might have belonged to workers of an ossuary production workshop, possibly the workshop found on Mount Scopus.