Uniquely decorated coffins from the days following the Bar Kochba uprising discovered by the Israel Police and Antiquities Authority grave robbers The tomb where they were located was opened and hid.
After receiving intelligence on the matter, inspectors from the Antiquities Authority and police from Kafr Qanna police station discovered that extensive infrastructure work had been carried out at a private site in the Mashhad Regional Council, which had completely covered an ancient burial cave. was destroyed. All that was left of the originally nine burial mound cave was a single burial mound.
Three ornate stone ossuary used in ancient times to collect human bones were found empty at the entrance of the cave. The ossuary was not in its natural position, leading to suspicion that the cave was looted.
Based on suspicion, several suspects were called for questioning harmful antiquities and failed to report the discovery of antiquities.
What do bones look like?
skeleton According to Dr Eaton Klein, deputy director of the Antiquities Authority’s Robbery Prevention Unit, the tombstones are made of soft limestone, are rectangular in shape and have flat lids adapted to coffins.
Video of a burial cave discovered after it was damaged by tomb robbers north of Nazareth. May 2023. (Credit: Nir Distelfeld/Israel Antiquities Authority’s Robbery Prevention Unit)
The decorated ossuary was used by Jews in Galilee during the 2nd–3rd centuries CE, with symbols from Jewish burial culture and Greek culture.
On top of one coffin, a carving resembling a tombstone was found, while on its other side a circular wreath with holes was found. According to Klein, the wreath probably symbolizes the victory of the deceased over death.
Klein explained, “These symbols are very typical of the stone ossuary used by the Jewish population in Galilee in the Middle Roman period.” “In the past, similar decoration models were discovered on stone shards from the Tzipori site. In archaeological research of the Land of Israel, it is accepted that stone ossuary is a special feature of late Jewish burials . The days of the Second Temple—mainly in the 1st century BCE until the days of the Bar Kochba rebellion, in the 2nd century CE.”