The Wadi Daliyeh Samaria papyri

Record summary

A cave at Wadi Daliyeh yielded papyri, bullae, coins and human remains associated with refugees from Samaria, generally dated to the late Persian period. The documents include legal and administrative material and illuminate personal names, property transfer and regional movement before Alexander’s conquest. They matter for comparing textual archives with refuge archaeology and for testing claims about Samaritan identity and imperial administration. Many papyri were badly damaged, and portions of the assemblage had complicated recovery histories. Interpretation depends on palaeography, language, associated coins and reconstructed fragments.