The vault has been sealed and guards have been placed around it while waiting to formulate a further excavation plan on this site where “a few items” have already been looted last week.
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Israeli archaeological authorities announced on Sunday, September 18 the accidental discovery of an intact burial vault dating back 3,300 years, from the time of Pharaoh Ramses II, and filled with pottery, bronze objects and bones. “This vault could provide us with a more complete picture of Late Bronze Age burial rites”said Eli Yannai, an expert on this period at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), in a statement, referring to a discovery “extremely rare”.
The vault was discovered last Tuesday when a worker working with an excavator at Palmahim National Park, south of Tel Aviv, stumbled upon a piece of stone that turned out to be the roof of this burial vault. Armed with video cameras and flashlights, archaeologists found ancient dishes, urns, cups, bones and various bronze objects, including arrowheads, the IAA said on Sunday, revealing the first images. of this discovery.
“When I saw the objects in the cave at Palmahim beach, my eyes immediately lit up, a discovery like this only happens once in a lifetime. have never been touched since their first use, it’s incredible”enthused David Gelman, archaeologist at the IAA.
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According to Israeli archaeologists, these objects had been deposited in this burial cave in order to accompany the deceased after their death and have not been touched for 3,300 years. The objects date from the period of Ramses II, who reigned over Egypt between 1279 and 1213 BC and also controlled Canaan, a territory that included the equivalent of modern Israel, the Palestinian Territories and parts of Lebanon. of Jordan and Syria, according to the Antiquities Authority.