[ad_1]
Tel Aviv [Israel]May 24 (ANI/TPS): Authorities investigating theft of ancient artifacts recently discovered a unique coffin dating back to the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire in Israel’s Galilee region, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.
The operation took place in Kfar Mashhad, where a burial cave was discovered containing several beautifully decorated sarcophagi dating back to about 1,850 years ago. These coffins, known as gloss kamas, were used for the second burial of Jews in the period following the Bar Kochba uprising of 132-135 AD.
Arriving at the private lot, inspectors from the Israeli Police and the Antiquities Authority were surprised to find that extensive illegal infrastructure work was being carried out using heavy engineering tools. Inspectors noticed several mounds of dirt, suggesting something was hiding underneath. Landowners and individuals in charge of the construction site were asked to remove the soil to reveal an ancient rock-hewn tomb.
Nine ancient tombs were found in the cave. At the entrance, inspectors were surprised to find three kamas decorated with stone luster, which were used to hold human bones in ancient times. These glossy kamas were found empty and displaced from their original locations, leading to immediate suspicion that the cave had recently been targeted by antiquities thieves.
Read also | Pakistan: Former minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested again after being released from prison.
Construction work on the site has been halted and several suspects have been summoned to the police station for questioning on charges of vandalism and failure to report the find. Meanwhile, Antiquities Authority inspectors documented and removed the ancient artifacts to prevent further looting and theft.
Dr Eitan Klein, deputy director of the Antiquities Authority’s robbery prevention unit, explained that glosskamas – rectangular coffins made of soft limestone – have flat lids specially designed to fit the structure.
The coffin is decorated with Hellenistic-influenced carvings depicting models related to Jewish funeral practices. One coffin displays a model resembling a mausoleum or memorial hand called a nefesh, while another has a circular garland with drilled holes, symbolizing the triumph of the dead over death.
Klein said the decorative motifs are typical of the stone sheen kamas used by the Jews of Galilee during the Middle Roman period. Similar decorations have also been found on glosskamas, and they are thought to have been a unique feature of Jewish burials from the end of the Second Temple period to the Bar Kochba uprising in the 2nd century CE.
The presence of lustrous stone kamas in the caves of Kfar Mashhad indicates the presence of Jewish settlements in the area during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, after the Bar Kochba rebellion and the migration of the Jewish community from Judea to Galilee.
Antiquities vandalism is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and there is a legal obligation to report any accidental discovery of antiquities to the Antiquities Authority.
Amir Ganor, head of the anti-theft department at the Antiquities Authority, said: “The excavators have completely destroyed one ancient burial cave and are alleged to be looting another. We will never know where the destroyed cave was. What it looked like or what was in it is gone. Almost 2,000 years of cultural assets are gone forever.”
Israel is home to some 35,000 antiquities sites, “each of which is a world in itself, containing information about thousands of years of human history,” said Eli Escusido, head of the Antiquities Authority. (ANI/TPS)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
share now
[ad_2]
Source link