The cave described below was accidentally breached by mechanical equipment in June 2012, when the infrastructure was being prepared for building lots, and it was resealed after a brief documentation by H. Smithline. The cave is located approximately 70 m west of a cluster of nine similar caves. Since no other caves were discovered at the time of the development work, it was concluded that it was an isolated cave. The cave was reopened in June 2013 in coordination with the Ministry of Religious Affairs for the purpose of documenting the artifacts and gathering all of the finds that were not human bones. When the cave was reopened, it became apparent that while the cave was sealed its ceiling collapsed and covered the floor of the main chamber with a layer of earth and rocks. Fearing that bones would be damaged, the floor of the main chamber was not excavated. Most of the loculi were devoid of soil and could be documented without an excavation. The documentation included surveying and drafting the cave, its nine loculi and the position of the bones scattered in them; an anthropological examination of the bones while they were on the ground; and the removal of a limestone ossuary that contained no finds. Upon completion of the documentation, the loculi were sealed with sheet metal, the floor of the cave was covered with fine gravel and the cave was re-sealed with earth and stones.
 
The Cave. The cave consisted of a central chamber, eight large loculi (2–9; Figs. 1, 2) and a tiny loculus (1; Figs. 3, 4) that contained several bone fragments and was found sealed with a stone slab and mortar. The original entrance to the cave was probably where it was breached by the mechanical equipment, but nothing remained of it. A relatively thick accumulation of soil near the opening indicates that it was not completely sealed, and that soil was washed inside the cave over the years. The bones in all of the loculi were found scattered, and was impossible to reconstruct the original burial position (Figs. 5, 6), except of in Loculus 1, which was too small for a primary burial, but had long bones were found arranged widthwise across the opening. That notwithstanding, a concentration of skulls inside Loculus 4 might indicate a primary burial that was disturbed. During the initial documentation of the cave in 2012, it was also ascertained that the bones on the floor of the main chamber were scattered. The random scattering of the bones in the loculi suggests the cave was plundered in antiquity. Although the discovery of six complete ossuaries and lids and only one ossuary, found lying on its side contradicts this assumption, it could be that the robbers did not expect to find any valuables in the ossuaries.
Five very small fragments of pottery vessels were found in the cave, most of which were in soil accumulations near the original opening. Some of the sherds are ancient and some postdate the time of the tomb (below), and were apparently swept into it over the years. One sherd, which is probably from the MB II, was found in Loculus 9, and obviously predates the time of the tomb.

The Ossuaries. Four complete ossuaries were found stacked in pairs on top of each other in Loculus 6 (Fig. 7); long bones were arranged inside the upper front ossuary. An empty, cracked ossuary was found lying on its side in front of Loculus 6 with the lid was nearby (Fig. 8); this ossuary was removed from the cave. Two other complete ossuaries were found in front of Loculus 2 (Fig. 9). The western ossuary was partially covered and was filled with soil that was washed into the cave from the vicinity of the original opening. The eastern ossuary was covered with the two halves of the lid that had broken in two; one of the halves was placed at 90° to its original position. Bones and a skull were arranged in this ossuary (Fig. 10). The seven ossuaries were made of limestone and were very coarsely crafted (general dimensions 0.30 × 0.55 m, depth c. 0.3 m). All of the ossuaries had a lid made of a rectangular stone slab that was placed on the container (Fig. 11). Only four of the ossuaries were accessible and could be carefully examined; no decorations or inscriptions were found on them, save a simple engraved X on the narrow wall of the empty ossuary (Fig. 12).

The Bones. The bone fragments from the burial cave represent at least thirty-five individuals. A rough breakdown of the individuals’ ages is presented below in Table 1 (for complete details of the methods of age assessment, see the anthropology report in the IAA archive). Infants, children, adolescents and adults spanning a wide age range are represented in this cave. At least nine males and six females were identified among the adult individuals. The age distribution and representation of the two sexes indicate the cave was used for burying an ordinary civilian population. Of the children, only one individual was identified that was less than 3 years of age, and no newborns were found. This observation may be inaccurate since the bones were not excavated and the anthropological examination consisted only of field observations. However, it is important to note that newborns are also absent from other burial caves that have been identified as Jewish burials from the Roman period in this geographic region. Despite the fine preservation of some of the skulls, no measurements were made and no epigenetic features were recorded due to the documentation constraints. Nevertheless, it was possible to discern the absence of porotic hyperostosis on the crania of at least five individuals and on the cribra orbitalia in at least seventeen cases.
 
Table 1. Age Breakdown of the Deceased
Age Group
(years)
0–4
5–14
15–25
25–40
>40
Unknown
Loculus 1
 
 
 
1
 
 
Loculus 2
 
 
2
1
1
 
Loculus 3
 
1
1
 
1
 
Loculus 4
2
 
1
 
1
 
Loculus 5
 
1
 
 
1
 
Loculus 6
1
 
 
1
 
2
Loculus 7
 
 
 
1
3
 
Loculus 8
1
 
 
1
1
 
Loculus 9
 
1
 
1
2
 
Central chamber
 
1
 
1
2
2
 
Since no artifacts were discovered that can be attributed to the burial phase in the cave, the evidence for dating of the cave and determining the ethnicity of the interred comprises only the burial in loculi and the use of ossuaries. The use of loculus caves is characteristic of Jews throughout Israel from the Hellenistic period until the Late Roman period. Secondary burial in ossuaries (apart from the Chalcolithic period) was also exclusively a Jewish tradition and was common, mainly in Jerusalem and Judea, from the late first century BCE until the Bar Kokhba rebellion (132–135 CE). In the Galilee, ossuaries were documented in tombs that were used from the first century CE until the early third century CE. At this stage in the research (Aviam and Syon 2002) we can assume that the use of ossuaries arrived in the Galilee only after the First Jewish Revolt (66–77 CE), and perhaps only after the Bar Kokhba rebellion. Were the floor in the main chamber unearthed, it would have probably revealed finds that could have helped in narrowing the date range for the use of the cave and the ossuaries.
Pagan burials in loculus caves in the Galilee are characterized by a relatively small number of deceased, usually one to three individuals per loculus and several other interred in sarcophagi (see Stern and Getzov 2006; Nagar, forthcoming). However, in the burial cave at Sasa we discerned a relatively high number of deceased, both per loculus and in the cave in general, as was customary in Jewish burial caves in the central region of the country and in Jerusalem (Nagar and Torgë 2003; Shmueli et al. 2013).The deliberate use of Loculus 1 for secondary burial is an unusual phenomenon.
 
In an excavation conducted in Sasa in 1974, a similar cave was excavated. Glass vessels, pottery, lamps, a bead, bronze buttons, iron nails and remains of gold plating found in its loculi were dated to the second century CE (Davis and Zias 1975). Burial caves of this type at Sasa, like the synagogue remains there, attest to a continuous Jewish settlement, probably from the Late Second Temple period until the Byzantine period.