due to the excavations of the bedouins, the archaeological context could no longer be determined. however, a fire layer has been found. which suggests that the last inhabitants of the cave have all their possessions, especially documents, that could provide information about other insurgents that wanted to destroy them so as not to let them fall into the hands of the romans. these besieged the inmates as a military camp located above the cave shows. the fact that the scroll survived this fire indicates that it had been buried before. this practice is mainly known from the later jewish tradition (geniza), but was also observed in this twelve-prophet scroll of wadi murabba'at.