or close to towns, such as hiding complexes, burial caves, storage facilities, and field towers, have both been found to have destruction layers and abandonment deposits. Furthermore, there is a gap in settlement above these levels. Fragmentary material from Transjordan and the Galilee adds to the discoveries from Judea. Excavations at archaeological sites such as Hurvat Itri and Kiryat Sefer have demonstrated that these Jewish villages were destroyed following the revolt and were subsequently inhabited by pagan populations. Herodium was excavated by archaeologist Ehud Netzer in the 1980s, publishing results in 1985. According to findings, during the later Bar-Kokhba revolt, complex tunnels were dug, connecting the earlier cisterns with one another. These led from the Herodium fortress to hidden openings, which allowed surprise attacks on Roman units besieging the hill. As opposed to the narrow and restricted tunnel complexes from the Judean plain, the Herodium tunnels were broad, with high ceilings, allowing for rapid movement of armed soldiers. The ruins of Betar, the last standing stronghold of Bar Kokhba, can be found at Khirbet al-Yahud, an archeological site located in the vicinity of Battir and Beitar Illit. A stone inscription bearing Latin characters and discovered near the site shows that the Fifth Macedonian Legion and the Eleventh Claudian Legion took part in the siege. Refuge caves Near the end of the uprising, many Jews fleeing for their life sought asylum in refuge caves, the most of which are found in Israel's Judaean Desert on high cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. The majority of these caves are large natural caverns (with few man-made modifications) that are situated in nearly inaccessible vertical cliffs. They carried luxury goods, cash, firearms, papers and deeds, and even the keys to their homes as a hint that they intended to return there once the fighting was over. These items were frequently discovered with their owners' bones in caverns, which is evidence of their tragic fate. The Cave of Letters in Nahal Hever and the caverns in Wadi Murabba'at, which yielded a plethora of written records from the time of the revolt, are among the best-known refuge caves. The Cave of Letters was surveyed in explorations conducted in 1960–1961, when letters and fragments of papyri were found dating back to the period of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Some of these were personal letters between Simeon bar Kokhba and his subordinates, and one notable