Items seized by the police that probably date back to the Bar Kokhba rebellion against the Romans in the second century. Photo: Yuli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority.
Last week, the Israeli police stopped a suspicious car traveling in the wrong direction on a one-way street in Jerusalem during a routine patrol. While searching in the trunk of the car, customers found a chest with rare bronze artifacts.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said, on Wednesday, that the found pieces, including hundreds of coins from the late Roman Empire, ornamental incense burners, and a bronze jug, They are 2000 years old.
Archaeologists believe that these objects were likely captured during the Bar Kokhba Rebellion, a Jewish revolt against Roman rule in the second century AD. C., The Times of Israel reports.
It is believed that the objects were stolen from the place where they were deliberately hidden or from the compound where the inhabitants were hiding after the battles during the Bar Kokhba Rebellion.And that the passengers of the car were taking it to Jerusalem to sell it to an antiques dealer.
A bronze jug found by the police. Photo: Yuli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority.
“These ancient finds embody the history of the country, but to thieves and merchants they are simply things that are sold at the best price out of sheer greed. It is extremely important to prevent any attempt to engage in the illegal antiquities trade, and to recover valuable finds and return them to the public and the country.”says Elie Esquido, director of the Antiquities Authority.
The authorities have opened a criminal investigation against the three suspects that are found with things.
The objects found must be 2,000 years old. Photo: Yuli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority.
Police arrest incense burners. Photo: Yuli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority.
The find includes coins and incense burners that may have belonged to rich Roman homes or temples, and a bronze wine jug. Photo: Yuli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority.
(With information from RT in Spanish)
See also:
Gold coins dating back more than a thousand years were found in the Old City of Jerusalem
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