discoveries. The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Jewish religious manuscripts dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, were discovered in the 1940s at the Qumran Caves. They are considered to be a keystone in the history of archaeology with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons, along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism. At the same time they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism. Numerous Roman period letters and papyri fragments were discovered in the Cave of Letters in Nahal Hever. These include correspondence between Simon bar Kokhba and his subordinates during the Bar Kokhba revolt. Another notable finding is the Babatha cache of papyri, which contains the legal documents of Babatha, a Jewish woman landowner who lived during the 2nd century CE. Finds from the Neolithic, including statues, masks, wooden and bone tools, skulls and reed basketry, were found in a cave at Nahal Heimar. Gallery See also Ein Gedi Geography of Israel Geography of Palestine Mar Saba Masada Judaean Mountains Mount of Temptation Qumran Caves Tourism in Israel Tourism in the Palestinian territories References Deserts of Israel Geography of Palestine (region) Geography of the West Bank Judea New Testament regions