A mysterious pyramid-shaped stone mound that stood undisturbed for more than 2,000 years overlooking the Dead Sea may not be a tomb, as long believed, but the remains of a small ancient Greek Hellenistic era fortress built to guard an ancient trade route, Israeli archaeologists say. The Greek pyramid-shaped structure, located near Nahal Zohar about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Masada, was recently excavated as part of a broader effort to locate and preserve artifacts in the Judean Desert.
The dig is part of a multi-year operation led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, with support from the Ministry of Heritage and the Judea and Samaria Civil Administration’s archaeology unit.
The site had been previously untouched, but its upper layers showed signs of looting. “We immediately noticed that someone had dug at the top of the structure, probably looters who had identified the grave,” said Dr. Eitan Klein, co-director of the excavation. He described the mound as five to six meters high, built from massive stones.
At first, the team believed the site was a large tomb. However, further analysis revealed distinct wall structures, leading archaeologists to identify it as a tower or small fortress dating back about 2,200 years to the Hellenistic period.
During that era, the region was under the control of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, a Greek empire centered in Alexandria, Egypt. According to Klein, the site overlooks what was once a major trade route connecting Edom—modern-day Jordan—to Gaza.
“We believe the building served to safeguard the road and may have been used by Ptolemaic officials to collect taxes from travelers,” Klein said.
The excavation uncovered numerous artifacts, including coins, wooden tools, fabrics, and fragments of ancient papyri written in Greek. While the exact content of the documents is still being studied, Klein suggested they may relate to tax records.
“Finding written records from such a long time ago is very rare, and the dream of every archaeologist,” he noted.
The team also recovered a large number of coins, which helped date the site. Most were minted under the Ptolemies, while others came from the Seleucid Empire, which later took control of the region. Some of the Seleucid coins were issued during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a figure known from the Hanukkah story, who was defeated by Judah Maccabee in 164 B.C.
The dry desert climate has helped preserve many organic materials. In recent years, archaeologists working in the Judean Desert have uncovered scrolls, textiles, and even a 10,000-year-old woven basket in near-perfect condition.
So far, the IAA’s Robbery Prevention Unit has surveyed 180 kilometers of cliffs and identified around 900 caves. While the Nahal Zohar area was first studied in the 1960s, the current dig is offering new insight into how ancient kingdoms controlled trade and territory in this remote desert region.
