Discovering ancient Galilee's hidden shelters A pleasant coolness greeted Yinon Shivtiel when he crawled into the cave at Mt. Berenice, as did a poisonous snake. Shivtiel, a doctoral candidate in Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University, who teaches at Safed College, is used to being surprised on his crawling expeditions into caves in the Galilee. He took the snake's presence in stride, preferring to save his excitement for the man-made "loft" dug out of the cave.