Archaeologists have found at least 125 tombs in a 2000-year-old Roman-era cemetery, which was discovered in Gaza last year. The findings include two rare sarcophaguses. The skeletons in the tombs are largely intact, a Reuters report said citing the Palestinian Ministry of Antiquities.
The Palestinian territory was an important trading post for civilisations such as the ancient Egyptians and the Philistines depicted in the Bible. Previously, local archaeologists reburied findings for lack of funding. However, French organisations have helped excavate this site where the latest findings have been found. The site itself was found in February last year by a construction crew working on an Egyptian-funded housing project.
What did the archaeologists find?
An expert at the French School of Biblical and Archeological Research Fadel Al-A’utul told Reuters that this is the first time that a cemetery has been found with 125 tombs in Palestine. This also marks the first time that two sarcophaguses made of lead have been found in Gaza.
Images of grapes adorned one of the rare sarcophaguses, while the other had dolphins, A’utul said. “We need funds to preserve this archeological site so that history does not get washed away,” he added. He hopes the site would become a destination for tourists, with a museum to display the findings.
A group of at least 25 engineers and technicians engaged in working on the findings on Sunday. They dug, cleared the dirt and preserved the skeletons. They also worked on piecing together clay jars found inside some of the graves. “This is unprecedented,” said Jamal Abu Reida, General-Director of Gaza’s Antiquities Ministry. “It deepens Palestinian roots on this land and shows they date back thousands of years,” he said.
Gaza has been under an Israel-Egyptian economic blockade since 2007 when the Islamist militant group Hamas, which opposes peace with Israel, took control. The narrow coastal territory’s 2.3 million Palestinian residents have since endured several wars.
U.S.-brokered peace talks, aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, collapsed in 2014 and show no sign of revival.
(With Agency Inputs)