1. All Palestine is honeycombed with rock–cut tombs, which form a fascinating and inexhaustible field of study. Unfortunately all that are in the least degree visible have long ago been rifled, and in recent years those pests, the curio–hunting tourists, have done incalculable harm by stimulating the native tomb–robber and dealer.
2. The explorer of rock–cut tombs must be indifferent to mud, damp, evil smells, noxious insects, and other discomforts, and he must be prepared to squeeze through very narrow passages, much clogged with earth. He is recommended to be on his guard against scorpions and snakes.
3. A plan and vertical section of the tomb should be drawn. The measurements should be taken carefully, not only for the sake of the accuracy of the plan, but also for metrological purposes.
4. The rock outside the entrance of the tomb–chamber should be examined. It often shows rebating or other cutting, designed to receive the foundations of a masonry mausoleum (resembling in general style the rock–hewn monuments in the Kedron Valley at Jerusalem). As a rule such structures have been entirely destroyed for the sake of their stones.
5. The tool–marks of the tomb–quarriers should be examined, as they sometimes reveal interesting technical points.
6. Every inch of the surface of the excavation, inside and out, must be examined for ornaments, symbols, or inscriptions. These may be either cut or painted, and often are very inconspicuous. Ornaments are usually floral in type, though in late tombs figure–subjects are occasionally to be found. Symbols are either Jewish (the seven– branched candlestick) or Christian (the cross, A–Ω, or the like). Inscriptions are not necessarily formally cut: they are sometimes mere scratched graffiti, which would be sure to escape notice unless carefully looked for (as in the so–called 'Tombs of the Prophets' on the Mount of Olives).
7. Dating of tombs. The savage rifling to which Palestinian tombs have been subjected has much reduced the material available for dating them. The following general principles apply to Southern Palestine: those in Northern Palestine and Syria still await a more exact study:
The earliest tombs known in the country were mere natural caves, into which the dead were cast, often very unceremoniously.
In the Second Semitic Period (circa. 1800–1400 B.C.) hewn chambers began to be used. These are in the form of cylindrical shafts with a doorway at the bottom leading sideways into the burial–chamber. Natural caves are still frequently used.
In the Third Semitic Period (circa. 1400–1000 B.C.) the shaft: form disappears and an artificial cave, rudely hewn out, takes its place. The entrance is in the side of the chamber, though not necessarily at the level of the floor. Rude shelves for the reception of the bodies are sometimes, but not always, cut in the sides of the chamber.