Israeli Authorities Retrieve 1,850-Year-Old Decorated Stone Ossuaries to Prevent Further Looting and Damage

Three 1,850-year-old stone ossuaries were unearthed for safekeeping by the Kafr Kanna police and the Israel Antiquities Authority Theft Prevention Unit near the village Mashhad, south of Kafr Kanna in Galilee, Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Monday.

Earthworks, which nearly destroyed an ancient Roman burial cave, led Israeli Antiquities Authority inspector to discover several piles of earth. After removing the piles, they found a second rock-hewn burial cave with nine niches that were also damaged by the earthworks.

Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.

Three fully decorated stone ossuaries, along with ossuary fragments were found. The small rectangular burial chests were carved in soft limestone and topped with flat lids. Incised on the side of one of the ossuaries was a burial structure with a mausoleum in Greek or a “nefesh” in Hebrew. Another depicted a circular wreath with holes, which some believe symbolize victory over death.

The ossuaries would have been used for a secondary burial of human bones collected after the flesh had completely rotted. This practice was customary among the Jewish community in Galilee from roughly the first century BCE through the second century CE.

These ossuaries, however, were found empty and had been moved from their original placement, indicating that the cave was looted.

While Israeli Antiquities Authority inspectors documented the site and collected the finds to prevent further looting, construction work at the site was stopped and several people were subject to police questioning.

“The original details of the destroyed cave cannot be reconstructed, and almost two-thousand-year-old cultural assets are lost forever. Thanks to the vigilance and determination of the Kafr Kanna Police, and the successful cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority, one of the caves was mostly saved,” said Amir Ganor, director of the Theft Prevention Unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

While one cave sustained serious damage, the other was looted. Damaging antiquities is a criminal offense, punishable by law with up to five years of imprisonment in Israel.

Source: artnews.com

No votes yet.
Please wait...
Loading...