6 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Evidence of Necromancy during Roman era in the Te’omim Cave, Jerusalem Hills: Oil Lamps, Spearheads, and Skulls

Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills may once have served as a local oracle where people communed with the dead in the hopes of learning about the future.

In Te’omim Cave, excavations that took place between 2010 and 2016 recovered a huge collection of Roman oil lamps, weapons, pieces of pottery, and actual human skulls hidden inside deep crevices.

This unusual collection of artifacts has persuaded a pair of Israeli archaeologists that an esoteric religious cult existed in the region between the second and fourth centuries AD, or during the Late Roman era.

They believe cult members used Te’omim Cave for ritual ceremonies, some of which included human sacrifices. The cave is described by researchers as a possible “portal to the underworld”.

In a new article appearing in the Harvard Theological Review, archaeologists Eitan Klein from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Boaz Zissu from Bar-Ilan University, analyzing the discoveries made at the cave, suggest that Te’omim might have hosted “secret rites.

Oil lamps and human skulls found in the cave were used for ancient magical practice and ritual acts according to study. Photo: B. Zissu/ Te’omim Cave Archaeological Project
Oil lamps and human skulls found in the cave were used for ancient magical practice and ritual acts according to study. Photo: B. Zissu/ Te’omim Cave Archaeological Project

The use of skulls and other potent objects to pierce the veil of death and enable living people to communicate with the dead was a common form of witchcraft or divination in ancient times.

The researchers state that although these rites frequently occurred inside tombs or burial caves, they occasionally happened in nekyomanteion (or nekromanteion), also known as an “oracle of the dead.” These shrines were generally located found near water sources or in caves that were thought to be potential entrances to the underworld.

Surprisingly, early archaeological descriptions of Te’omim from the nineteenth century reveal that locals still attributed healing powers to the cave’s spring water.

Researchers have uncovered Roman-era items stashed in nooks and crannies within the cave, many of which may have been used to communicate with the dead. One of the main signals for researchers was the discovery of more than 120 preserved oil lamps systematically placed all around the cave system.

Plan of the Te’omim Cave. Image credit: B. Langford, M. Ullman/ Te’omim Cave Archaeological Project
Plan of the Te’omim Cave. Image credit: B. Langford, M. Ullman/ Te’omim Cave Archaeological Project

“The fact that these lamps had been thrust into and buried deep in these hidden, hard-to-reach crevices suggests that illuminating the dark cave was not their sole purpose,” the authors report in the study. Instead, they believe the lamps were used “as part of a cultic activity.”

“The use of oil lamps for divination … was extremely widespread in the classical periods,” the study said. “The prophetic force behind the lamp was believed to be a spirit or spirits, or in some cases even gods or demons.” Messages would come through the flames of the lamps. “Divination by means of oil lamps was done by watching and interpreting the shapes created by the flame.”

“Some crevices contained groups of oil lamps mixed with weapons and pottery vessels from earlier periods or placed with human skulls,” also write the study authors.

The study explains that weapons were kept close to those who entered the cave for divination. “They served primarily to protect the believer from evil spirits and to ensure that offerings to the specific spirit being conjured up were not seized by other spirits.”

Evil spirits were believed to be afraid of metal, particularly iron and bronze. As such, keeping a metal weapon close by, such as a sword or dagger, would keep you somewhat protected from evil spirits.

Also found in the cave system were multiple human skulls. The study states, “Due to the archaeological context of the finds and their location inside the cave, we assume that the craniums were placed together with the oil lamps as part of a ritual of magic.”

While it is of course difficult to pinpoint the exact purpose of the human skulls, the study is propose that they were used in a similar fashion to skulls found throughout the former Roman Empire which were employed for “necromancy ceremonies and communication with the dead.”

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816023000214

Related Articles

Excavations at Coleshill may rewrite English Civil War history

5 February 2023

5 February 2023

Archaeologists excavating the site of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire have revealed evidence of what could be one of the first...

The Colchester Vase: New Analyses Uncover Evidence of Gladiatorial Combat in Roman Britannia

23 February 2025

23 February 2025

The Colchester Vase, dating back to A.D. 160–200, is not just a ceramic artifact; it is considered a unique graphic...

2,300-year-old Buddhist temple discovered in Pakistan

23 December 2021

23 December 2021

Remains of a 2300 years old Buddhist Temple have been discovered in Northwest Pakistan by a joint team of Pakistani...

Rare Langsax fighting blade with Viking origins discovered in Poland

20 August 2021

20 August 2021

Archaeologists working in the Wdecki Landscape Park in Poland’s Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship have discovered a rare langsax long knife with potential...

In Switzerland, a Roman amphitheater was discovered during the construction of boathouse

21 January 2022

21 January 2022

Archaeologists from Aargau Cantonal Archaeology have announced the discovery of a Roman amphitheater in Kaiseraugst, located in the canton of...

Archaeologists Discovered a Fragmentary Inscription in Cypriot Syllabary Found Dating to the Cypro-Archaic Period

1 December 2024

1 December 2024

During excavations at Palaepaphos, located within the municipal boundaries of the modern village of Kouklia-Martsello on the southwest coast of...

12,000-year-old ‘public building’ unearthed in southeastern Turkey’s Mardin

27 September 2022

27 September 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a “public building” thought to be 12,000 years old at Boncuklu Tarla in the...

Ancient coins surface with Lake Iznik’s withdrawal in Türkiye

2 May 2023

2 May 2023

With the withdrawal of Lake Iznik in the northwest of Türkiye, the ancient coins found at the bottom of the...

The Lion of Venice was Made in China: : Isotopic Analyses and Stylistic Comparisons Prove it

16 September 2024

16 September 2024

Recent scientific studies have revealed that the famous bronze-winged lion above one of the two columns in Piazzetta San Marco,...

Rare Anglo-Saxon Gold and Garnet Artifacts Discovered in Wiltshire

12 May 2025

12 May 2025

A breathtaking discovery in the southwestern English county of Wiltshire has captivated archaeologists and metal detecting enthusiasts alike. Two detectorists,...

Outstanding Bronze Age artifacts discovered in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France

23 August 2021

23 August 2021

Hundreds of bronze objects have been discovered buried in pottery in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The research team, led...

Egypt unearths 2,300-year-old remains of Greco-Roman town in Alexandria

28 August 2021

28 August 2021

An Egyptian archeological team discovered the ruins of a Greco-Roman residential and commercial town in the north coast city of...

Rare 400-year-old Bronze Trumpets Discovered on a shipwreck in Croatia

12 July 2024

12 July 2024

Croatian underwater archaeologists have made an extraordinary discovery off the southern coast of Istria near Cape Kamenjak. They have unearthed...

Uncovering the ritual past of ancient mustatils: Cult, herding, and ‘pilgrimage’ in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia

16 March 2023

16 March 2023

Mustatils—stone monuments from the Late Neolithic period thought to have been used for ritual purposes—have been the subject of new...

Researcher Says There is Similarity Between Mayan and Shu Cultures

12 April 2021

12 April 2021

The similarities between Mayan civilization and Shu culture draw the attention of researchers. As it is known, the Sanxingdui ruins,...