Unveiling the Mystery of Zoar's Ancient Tombstones

Exactly a hundred years ago, in 1924, the engineers of the Potash Company were conducting a comprehensive survey around the Dead Sea. This survey involved collecting geological samples from the entire area to locate mineral deposits, ultimately leading to what would later be known as the 'Dead Sea Works.' After World War I, the region came under British control, and the company, then called the 'Palestine Mining Syndicate,' was legally registered in Britain and managed by Moshe Abramovich Novameisky.

Novameisky led the geological surveys, with the aim of profiting from mineral extractions—unaware that the Dead Sea Works would remain Israel's most profitable enterprise even a century later. To finance these efforts, he borrowed money from Baron Rothschild. Alongside engineer Moshe Langotsky, they conducted extensive surveys throughout the region for two and a half years. Ultimately, they secured exclusive rights over the plants for 75 years, but initially faced only expenses...

During one of their tours, the engineers arrived at an ancient mound called A-Ztaf, located southeast of the Dead Sea. Seeking minerals, they stumbled upon a stone marked with letters, which they whimsically photographed and sent a copy to Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, who would later become the President of Israel but also had a keen interest in history and research.

The stone inscription read: 'May the soul of Shaul ben... rest. He died on the first of Cheshvan, the first year of the Sabbatical cycle, 364 years after the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.'

These pictures sparked significant interest in Jerusalem. Although the engineers found a more optimal location for mining, archaeologists took over the A-Ztaf excavations. Remarkably, beneath the sand and salt, a vast cemetery from the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods was preserved with 78 intact tombstones, bearing inscriptions!

For nearly two thousand years, these tombstones laid covered, their existence and the wealth of information they contained remaining unknown. It was revealed that, in those days, years were counted 'since the destruction of the Holy Temple,' evident on many tombstones by the numeric years post-destruction. Additionally, Sabbatical years were recorded, as exemplified by 'third year of the Sabbatical cycle.' These datings are a treasure trove for determining the Sabbatical year, over which the Geonim and Rambam had debated.

Jewish symbols are prevalent on the tombstones: an Ark, the Four Species, a Shofar, a Menorah, and more.

Some surmised, based on certain hypotheses, that A-Ztaf is the biblical Zoar, one of the four famous cities of the plain.

The mystery remains: Who were buried here? Zoar was not known to be a large Jewish settlement, so how did so many graves persist there?

Some speculate that Zoar served as a cemetery for Jews from the Diaspora, supported by inscriptions suggesting people from far-off Himyar came to be buried at Zoar, likely because it was the closest site to the Eastern lands, situated southeast of the Dead Sea, making it a burial place for those brought from afar.

Some tombstones were brought to Israel, now housed in the Israel Museum and the Hecht Museum in Haifa, but the majority remained at the site, and after the establishment of the State of Israel, they were in Jordan. The Jordanians set up a small museum there, where the remaining tombstones can be seen, their occupants' identities and origins yet unclear.