ABSTRACT
F. J. Bliss and R. A. S. Macalister conducted archaeological explorations at four main sites in the Judean Shephelah during 1898–1900 on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund (Bliss and Macalister 1902). They spent in the field more than thirteen months (out of twenty-two months), at Tell Zakariya (ancient Azekah), Tell es-Safi (Tel Safit, ancient Gat), Tell ej-Judeideh (Tel Goded), and Tell Sandahannah (ancient Maresha). 1 Bliss, who was in charge of the expedition, took care of the excavation duties, while Macalister, his assistant, served as a surveyor, draughtsman, and was responsible for the survey of the rock-cut caves. Macalister explored the concentrations of the artificial caves rock-cut underneath or near the ancient sites. He provided data on three major concentrations of artificial caves:
At Tell Zakariya, he documented ‘The Great Souterrain’, nowadays understood as a typical hiding complex. He also mentioned briefly additional rock-cut chambers (Bliss and Macalister 1902, 213–223).
At Khurbet el-’Ain, east of Tell ej-Judeideh, he documented three subterranean complexes, two of which include typical details of the hiding complexes phenomenon (Bliss and Macalister 1902, 224–237).
Tell Sandahannah — his major work, to be described below (Bliss and Macalister 1902, 238–252).
