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.

? ? ? ? ? ?每個(gè)人都知道死海古卷，但很少有人意識(shí)到這只是該地區(qū)的一個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)，該地區(qū)不斷產(chǎn)生著數(shù)以百計(jì)的發(fā)現(xiàn)，對(duì)我們了解基督教時(shí)代早期幾個(gè)世紀(jì)的生活、猶太人叛亂和相互關(guān)系具有重要意義。人們?cè)跁哦囱òl(fā)掘出了大量的紙莎草信件和文件。

發(fā)? ? ?現(xiàn)

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.

? ? ? ? ? 書信洞穴于 20 世紀(jì) 60 年代初在以色列發(fā)現(xiàn)，由著名的以色列考古學(xué)家伊加爾·雅丁(Yigael Yadin)在公元1960-1961年間發(fā)掘的。雅丁離開軍隊(duì)后致力于研究和考古工作，并因其關(guān)于死海古卷翻譯的博士論文而獲得以色列猶太研究獎(jiǎng)。除了書信洞穴之外，雅丁還在該地區(qū)挖掘了許多重要遺址，包括米吉多遺址、馬薩達(dá)遺址、庫(kù)姆蘭石窟和特爾夏佐爾 (Tel Hazor)。雅丁在對(duì)死海洞穴進(jìn)行緊急搜索時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個(gè)洞穴，以便在該地區(qū)越來(lái)越多的尋寶者將其掠奪之前搶救具有歷史意義的文物。這個(gè)洞穴可能是在死海庫(kù)姆蘭村附近的另一個(gè)洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)的銅卷上所刻的64個(gè)地點(diǎn)之一。據(jù)信，這是由于洞穴入口的位置和形狀相似，都是兩根柱子，此外，卷軸上也提到了洞穴中青銅器和石器的放置情況。

考古發(fā)掘

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 Kochba, 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 Kochba as Shimon Bar Kochba, Simon son of a star.

? ? ? ? ? 書信洞穴是在一個(gè)叫Nahal Hever（希伯來(lái)語(yǔ)：??? ???）的峽谷上方發(fā)現(xiàn)的。該洞穴位于朱迪亞沙漠中的死海地區(qū)，只能通過爬升15.24m到達(dá)洞穴入口才能進(jìn)入。在1960-61年的挖掘過程中，雅丁發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些人類頭骨和身體骸骨以及日常生活中常見的物品，以及他認(rèn)為是青銅儀式物品的東西。雅丁的團(tuán)隊(duì)還發(fā)現(xiàn)了成組的紙莎草信件，這些信件構(gòu)成了以色列迄今為止發(fā)現(xiàn)的規(guī)模最大的古代信件和個(gè)人文件儲(chǔ)存庫(kù)。這些信件正在慢慢出版，但這一過程尚未完成。其中一封信是巴爾·科赫巴 (Bar Kochba) 寫的，他是公元二世紀(jì)第三次猶太反抗羅馬人的彌賽亞領(lǐng)袖。猶地亞地區(qū)是羅馬帝國(guó)的一部分，但猶太人對(duì)羅馬統(tǒng)治者作為臣民國(guó)家感到不安。在書信洞穴的文件中，發(fā)現(xiàn)了巴爾·科赫巴簽署的軍事命令，他的名字是“西蒙·巴爾·科赫巴”，“西蒙之子”。

信件的內(nèi)容

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 did not 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.

? ? ? ? ? 令一些學(xué)者感到驚訝的是，這些信件的用語(yǔ)相當(dāng)嚴(yán)厲，其中包括對(duì)恩戈地（En Gedi）領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人Yehonatan的威脅信。2000-2001年，來(lái)自哈特福德大學(xué)的考古學(xué)家和猶太歷史教授理查德·弗羅因德（Richard Freund）帶領(lǐng)一支由約翰·梅里爾和卡羅爾·梅里爾（John and Carol Merrill）組成的探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)，去尋找有關(guān)書信洞穴的更多信息。在與一個(gè)國(guó)際考古學(xué)家和學(xué)者團(tuán)隊(duì)返回洞穴時(shí)，弗羅因德發(fā)現(xiàn)了該洞穴使用的新證據(jù)，并發(fā)現(xiàn)了許多新文物。弗羅因德解釋說，書信洞穴是一個(gè)巨大的洞穴，在峭壁上有兩個(gè)開口，內(nèi)部有三個(gè)房間，由狹窄的通道連接，洞穴群在懸崖邊切入超過300碼（274米）深。弗羅因德有機(jī)會(huì)探索新的挖掘區(qū)域，而雅丁卻沒有機(jī)會(huì)。雅丁無(wú)法在洞穴地面上由幾個(gè)世紀(jì)的地震造成的厚厚的碎石層下進(jìn)行探索。在某些地區(qū)，瓦礫厚達(dá)15英尺（4.57米）。弗羅因德還可以使用探地雷達(dá)和電阻率斷層掃描技術(shù)，這使他能夠進(jìn)行更深層次地挖掘和調(diào)查。弗羅因德和雅丁的發(fā)掘工作，為研究猶太教和基督教之間的關(guān)系以及現(xiàn)代中東政治的歷史提供了重要的文物。

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.

? ? ? ? ? 在洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)的最重要的信札之一，是一位居住在港口城市Maoza（希臘語(yǔ)名：Μαωzeα）的猶太婦女的個(gè)人文件。這名婦女名叫巴巴莎（Babatha）（也稱為巴巴塔（Babata））。這些文件生動(dòng)地描述了公元二世紀(jì)時(shí)一個(gè)中上層猶太婦女的生活。它們的歷史可以追溯到公元 96-134 年左右，并提供了羅馬官僚機(jī)構(gòu)和法律體系的例子，包括與婚姻、財(cái)產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移和監(jiān)護(hù)權(quán)有關(guān)的法律合同。它們顯示，巴巴莎大約出生于公元104年，繼承了她父親的棗椰園。她于 124 年第一次結(jié)婚，并成為寡婦，育有一子，名叫耶穌。她在公元125年再婚，嫁給一名叫猶大的男人，后者已經(jīng)有了另一位妻子和一個(gè)十幾歲的女兒。還有一些貸款文件顯示，猶大向巴巴莎借錢，而巴巴莎顯然掌握著自己的財(cái)產(chǎn)。在猶大死后，她以遺產(chǎn)的形式拿回了這筆錢。巴巴莎檔案中的其他文件包括那些關(guān)于她兒子的監(jiān)護(hù)權(quán)以及她和猶大的第一任妻子米利暗（Miriam）之間關(guān)于猶大遺產(chǎn)的糾紛。

洞穴的用途

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 at the time of the Bar-Kochba 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.

? ? ? ? ? 書信洞穴的用途仍有一些爭(zhēng)論，但這些文物是有啟示意義的。最廣泛接受的理論是，逃離羅馬壓迫的猶太難民使用這個(gè)洞穴作為藏身之處。公元 132 年，巴爾·科赫巴叛亂發(fā)生時(shí)，巴巴莎就在該地區(qū)。她可能是逃亡或被殺害了，因?yàn)槎囱ㄖ械奈募奈幢徽业?，而且與 20 具骷髏一起被發(fā)現(xiàn)，表明她或其他人在洞穴避難時(shí)喪生。骨骼遺骸的特殊之處在于完全沒有暴力創(chuàng)傷的跡象，這表明他們死于饑餓。動(dòng)物和烹飪準(zhǔn)備的跡象也表明該洞穴曾被用作避難所，包括一座圓形的烤爐。弗羅因德發(fā)現(xiàn)了一系列代表日常生活的元素，例如繩索和紙莎草的碎片、織物、一把木梳、生活區(qū)的跡象和兒童涼鞋。這雙涼鞋特別重要，因?yàn)樵摰貐^(qū)婦女和兒童的遺跡很少。

The Cave of Letters also provides direct evidence of Bar Kochba's early triumphs supposedly with a Bar Kochba coin found in the A-B 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.

? ? ? ? ? 書信洞穴還提供了巴爾·科赫巴(Bar Kochba)早期勝利的直接證據(jù)，據(jù)說是在 AB 通道中發(fā)現(xiàn)了一枚巴爾·科赫巴 (Bar Kochba) 硬幣。這是洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)的八枚硬幣中的一枚。硬幣上的銘文是“為了耶路撒冷的自由”。很明顯，字母洞穴是一個(gè)充滿大量信息和具有深遠(yuǎn)意義的寶庫(kù)。

原文網(wǎng)址：https://www.worldhistory.org/Cave_of_Letters/