A cross-regional initiative for the study of
monasticism in the late antique Near East
Cave 1 - Ein Avdat
Plan of Cave No. 1. The cave has two rooms (A and B), two entrances and two small windows overlooking the canyon. Several niches have been cut into the walls.
Plan adapted from Z. Meshel and Y. Tsafrir, Archaeological Survey in Ein 'Avdat (Hebrew)
(1977), 7, drawing 2
Exterior view of Cave No. 1 showing two entrances and two windows. There is also a large balcony area - for a more distant view, see the image here on the Ein Avdat mainpage.
Entrance into Room A of Cave No. 1.
Niche in western wall of Room A in Cave No. 1. Note grooving for shelf.
Entrance into Room B of Cave No. 1. Niche in western wall is partially visible in photo.
Cave 1 is conveniently situated on the vistors' trail in Ein Avdat, approximately 50 m north of the ascent ladder. Since the focus of our June 2016 documentation work was on the more inaccessible caves, Cave 1 was not reinspected then. However, some images of the cave from an earlier visit to the site are provided below, along with the plan from the original survey by Meshel and Tsafrir. The team will return to this Cave 1 at a later date to collect additional data.