Roman-Era Cemetery With Over 100 Tombs Unearthed in Gaza

Archaeologists have unearthed two rare lead sarcophagi and at least 125 tombs at a Roman-era cemetery in Gaza.

The series of finds is “unprecedented,” says Jamal Abu Reida, general director of Gaza’s antiquities ministry, to Reuters’ Nidal Al-Mughrabi.

Construction crews discovered the site, which stretches over 43,000 square feet, while working on an Egyptian-funded housing project last year, according to Ellen Francis of the Washington Post.

It’s remarkably well-preserved: Roman aristocrats were likely buried in the graves, many of which still contain skeletal remains, reports Hyperallergic’s Elaine Velie. Some still have coins in their mouths, thought to help secure a safe journey to the underworld.

“It’s rare to discover an intact Roman burial site, where nothing has been stolen,” says Anthony Dutemple, the head of mission in Palestine for Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI), a French humanitarian group, to the Art Newspaper’s Hadani Ditmars.

Researchers working at the sprawling site found the first lead sarcophagus, which is decorated with reliefs of grapes and vines, earlier this year. The discovery of a second lead sarcophagus, which is engraved with dolphins, was announced last month.

The cemetery is located less than a mile from the ancient Mediterranean port city of Anthedon, which was inhabited by “a succession of ancient societies, including Persians, Greeks, Romans and early Islamic cultures” between 800 B.C.E. to 1100 C.E., per Hyperallergic.

The excavation—a joint effort between PUI and the French School of Biblical and Archeological Research (EBAF) in Jerusalem—employed about 30 recent graduates from Gaza’s Islamic University and the University of Palestine.

The project is meant to offer the young researchers a chance to engage with Palestinian cultural heritage and gain dig experience in Gaza, where archaeological tools and technologies are difficult to access, according to the Art Newspaper.

“In Palestine, in a society deeply affected by the Israeli occupation, culture and heritage are vital elements in keeping hope alive,” Dutemple tells Hyperallergic.

In June, experts moved the first lead sarcophagus to a museum in Gaza’s Qasr al-Basha museum, where it will be “one of the centerpieces of the museum’s collection,” according to the EBAF.

The team is now working to clean remains and piece together clay jars found at the graves, and investigations at the site will continue for a number of months. 

Fadel Al-A’utul, an archaeologist at the EBAF, hopes the cemetery can eventually become a tourist destination with its own museum to display the discovered artifacts. 

“We need funds to preserve this archeological site so that history does not get washed away,” he tells Reuters.

Four 1,900-Year-Old Roman Swords Found in The Judean Desert

Archaeologists report having discovered four incredibly well-preserved Roman swords in the Judean Desert. This very rare find was made in a small hidden cave located in an area of isolated and inaccessible cliffs north of ‘En Gedi, in the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Authority.

Fifty years ago, a stalactite with a fragmentary ink inscription written in ancient Hebrew script, characteristic of the First Temple period, was found.

Recently, Dr. Asaf Gayer of the Department of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Ariel University, geologist Boaz Langford of the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority photographer, visited the cave.

Their aim was to photograph the Paleo-Hebrew inscription written on the stalactite with multispectral photography that might be able to decipher additional parts of the inscription not visible to the naked eye.

While on the upper level of the cave, Asaf Gayer spotted an extremely well-preserved, Roman pilum— a shafted weapon in a deep narrow crevice. He also found pieces of worked wood in an adjacent niche that turned out to be parts of the swords’ scabbards.

The researchers reported the discovery to the Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeological Survey Team, who are conducting a systematic scientific project in the Judean Desert caves.

As part of this survey, initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and the Archaeological Office for the Military Administration of Judea and Samaria, hundreds of caves have been investigated over six years, and 24 archaeological excavations have been carried out in selected caves, with the aim of saving the archaeological remains from the hands of looters.

The Judean Desert Cave Survey team, together with Asaf Gayer and Boaz Langford returned to the cave and carried out a meticulous survey of all the crevices in the rock, during which they were astonished to find the four Roman swords in an almost inaccessible crevice on the upper level of the cave.

Experts say the four swords are 1,900-year-old and most likely from the Bar Kochba revolt that lasted from 132 to 135 C.E. Also called the Second Jewish Revolt, it was a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in Judea led by rebel leader Simon Bar Kochba.

The most plausible scenario is that the swords were hidden in the cave sometime during the revolt, as it was dangerous for Jews to be found with Roman weapons.

“Finding a single sword is rare—so four? It’s a dream! We rubbed our eyes to believe it,” say the researchers.

The swords were exceptionally well preserved, and three were found with the iron blade inside the wooden scabbards. Leather strips and wooden and metal finds belonging to the weapons were also found in the crevice.

The swords had well-fashioned handles made of wood or metal. The length of the blades of the three swords was 60–65 cm, their dimensions identifying them as Roman spatha swords, and the fourth one was shorter with c. 45 cm long blade, identified as a ring-pommel sword.

The swords were carefully removed from the crevice in the rock and transferred to the Israel Antiquities Authority climate-controlled laboratories for preservation and conservation.

The initial examination of the assemblage confirmed that these were standard swords employed by the Roman soldiers stationed in Judea in the Roman period.

“The hiding of the swords and the pilum in deep cracks in the isolated cave north of ‘En Gedi, hints that the weapons were taken as booty from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield and purposely hidden by the Judean rebels for reuse,” says Dr. Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project.

“Obviously, the rebels did not want to be caught by the Roman authorities carrying these weapons. We are just beginning the research on the cave and the weapon cache discovered in it, aiming to try to find out who owned the swords, and where, when, and by whom they were manufactured.

We will try to pinpoint the historical event that led to the caching of these weapons in the cave and determine whether it was at the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE.”

Following the discovery of the swords, an archaeological excavation was undertaken in the cave by the Israel Antiquities Authority, directed by Eitan Klein, Oriya Amichay, Hagay Hamer, and Amir Ganor.

The cave was excavated in its entirety, and artifacts dating to the Chalcolithic period (c. 6,000 years ago) and the Roman period (c. 2,000 years ago) were uncovered.

At the entrance to the cave, a Bar-Kokhba bronze coin from the time of the Revolt was found, possibly pointing to the time when the cave served for concealing the weapons.