In 1962 and 1963, Frank Moore Cross, former professor of Hebrew at Harvard University, purchased a hoard of ancient papyri and stamp seals from looters from the Bedouin tribe of Ta'amireh.
They lead him to Mughâret Abū Shinjeh cave (Arabic: مغارة ابو سخبه) and in 1963-1964, Cross conducted excavations at the site in the and unearthed more papyri along with stamp seals, some still intact, and various human remains.
The material of the site was understood as the remains of noble Samaritans who had fled from the reprisals of Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, following the murder of his satrap Andromachus.
1–116 in DJD XXVIII (2001); The Wadi Daliyeh Seal Impressions Vol.1 by Mary Joan Winn Leith(Oxford, 1997); and "Les manuscrits araméens du Wadi Daliyeh et la Samarie vers 450–332 av.
It contained material from the Intermediate Bronze Age (2500-2000 BCE) and from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the early 2nd century CE.