Cenotaph Hill: An unknown ‘mound’ in the En-Gedi Oasis

Despite extensive archaeological explorations in En-Gedi, the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea, over the past seven decades, a significant component of its settlement landscape has so far gone unnoticed. This component, referred to in this article as Cenotaph Hill, is located in the northern part of the oasis plain, somewhat removed from the nucleus area of previously explored ancient settlement remains. Recent investigation of Cenotaph Hill, combining analysis of a forgotten excavation conducted on its slope in the 1960s with a high-resolution surface survey and new trial excavations, underscores the existence of significant activity from the Hellenistic and Roman periods in this part of the oasis. The discovery and research of this hitherto unknown multi-period site has important implications for settlement dynamics in the oasis during the late Second Temple period.