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The 'Samaritan sarcophagi' are a cohesive group of stone coffins with unique characteristics from the 2nd-3rd centuries CE. Due to their unique form, non-figurative decorations, their distribution that corresponds to the area of Samaritan settlement, and several inscriptions of Samaritan names engraved on them, Rachel Barkay previously proposed attributing the production and use of this group of coffins to the Samaritan population as an ethnic indicator. In contrast, Yitzhak Magen suggested that the entire population of Samaria used this group of sarcophagi; therefore they have no cultural-material feature unique to the Samaritan population, and their presence at a site does not necessarily indicate the existence of a Samaritan population. In this paper I reexamine this question while analyzing several findings that cast doubt on Barkay's proposal and may support Magen's opinion, including the archaeological context in which Samaritan sarcophagi were discovered in the cemetery of the city of Sebastia, a Samaritan sarcophagus with a Latin inscription, and a coffin of this type found in the village of Jifna, outside the boundaries of the Samaritan settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of hiding complexes was traditionally associated with the Jewish settlement in Judaea at the end of the Second Temple period and the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Over the past decades, and especially in recent years, similar hiding complexes have been discovered in Jewish Galilee in growing numbers. This article presents five hiding complexes in central-Lower Galilee that were discovered due to antiquities looting. These complexes are comprised of rock-cut cavities predating the complex, later connected by tunnels. The five hiding complexes discussed here represent a significant contribution to the growing corpus of hiding complexes in Galilee. Furthermore, some of the complexes yielded datable finds that provide insight into the dates of the complexes' creation and use. It appears that some of these complexes were created as early as the first century CE, possibly in connection to the Great Revolt. It also appears that most of the complexes remained in use throughout and even after the Roman period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]