Treasure trove of heritage buried underneath Gaza found
3 Min Read
The Palestinians have been more accustomed to burying their young than digging up their old heritage.
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Byzantine monastery of Saint Hilarion
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are so used to burying their dead after 70 years of occupation by the brutal Israeli regime that they are unfamiliar with digging up their own rich heritage.
Ahmad, a young guard, noticed a piece of stone one day sticking out of the earth as construction workers worked on a site in the Strip.
At first, Ahmad thought it was a tunnel used by the Palestinian Resistance.
However, it turned out to be part of a Roman necropolis from nearly 2,000 years ago - showcasing the impoverished Palestinian territory's rich archaeological treasures.
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When Ahmad discovered his find, bulldozers were digging up the sandy soil in Jabaliya, to the north of the coastal enclave, in order to build new concrete houses.
Ahmad said he immediately alerted the foremen who contacted authorities to ask workers to stop.
With social media rumors of a major find, Gaza's antiquities agency sought the help of the French NGO Premiere Urgence Internationale and the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Al-Quds to assess the site's significance and mark off the area.
French archaeologist Rene Elter, who led the team dispatched to Jabaliya stated that "the first excavations permitted the identification of about 40 tombs dating from the ancient Roman period between the first and second centuries AD," adding that "the necropolis is larger than these 40 tombs and should have between 80 and 100."
According to the archaeologist, one of the burial sites discovered so far is embellished with multi-colored murals depicting crowns and garlands of bay leaves, as well as jars for funereal liquids.
On his part, Jamal Abu Rida, director of the local archaeological service that deals with protecting the necropolis, stated that there is a struggle to fight antiquities trafficking.
There are fears, however, that these findings could fall into the hands of the occupation, just like anything else, considering that the Israeli occupation is used to laying its territorial claims on any discoveries in the Holy land of Palestine, the land it itself occupied.
Israeli excavations threaten Al-Aqsa
Israeli encroachment on Palestinian land and property is nothing new.
Just earlier, relevant institutions and authorities revealed that excavations made by "Israel" under Al-Aqsa Mosque are threatening its foundations, revealing that new cracks have appeared in the floor of the Holy Mosque.
The cracks appeared near the Islamic Museum and the Mughrabi Gate adjacent to Al-Buraq Wall all the way to the Umayyad palaces area.
On its part, the Council of Endowments, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Sanctuaries in the occupied city of Al-Quds said it is following the dangerous activities of "Israel" in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa.
The council stated that the "Israel" Antiquities Authority and the "Elad" settlement association have been conducting suspicious and mysterious excavations in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially from the southern and western sides adjacent to the mosque's external foundation, in the areas of Al-Buraq Wall and the Umayyad palaces.
The Council also indicated that it has been monitoring for a while a group of workers using bulldozers and heavy excavating machinery working at an extremely suspicious fast pace in the said areas.
