A Hiding Complex and Ritual Bath (Miqveh) at Ḥorvat Maskana and the Question of Their Use in the Byzantine Period

Parts of a subterranean hiding complex and a miqveh (ritual bath) were excavated at Ḥorvat Maskana in 2020. The Byzantine pottery from the excavation, along with the dating of the plaster, suggests that the complex was used in the Byzantine period and may originally have been hewn in the Roman period. Additional hiding complexes with not only Roman but also Byzantine pottery exist elsewhere in Galilee. The presence of Byzantine pottery inside some of the hiding complexes points to the possibility that their use should not be limited to the Roman period, and that there may have been limited use in the Byzantine period by the local Jewish Galilean.