Archaeologists working in the Gaza Strip unearthed a 2,000-year-old lead-covered sarcophagus from the Roman period. Located on Gaza’s northern coast, just 500 meters from the sea, the sarcophagus is part of a large Roman necropolis discovered just last year.
The excavation project is under the supervision of “Première Urgence Internationale”, a French humanitarian organization that supports such conservation projects in Gaza through the INTIQAL programme. It is also funded by the British Council, according to IFLScience.
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A total of about 90 individual and mass graves have been found in the necropolis, which covers an area of about 3,500 square meters, but scientists suggest it was a private burial, possibly belonging to an eminent person.
As Jehad Yassin, director of the excavations and museums department at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, explains, this theory is based on the burial site. Laura Burnett of the British Antiquities Movement program said that another point that supports this conclusion is that lead coffins were seen as an “elegant and expensive” burial method in the Roman period, as in later centuries.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the sarcophagus has yet to be opened, so it will have to wait to find out exactly who is buried inside. Currently, the sarcophagus has been placed in a wooden container for further transport and examination by experts.
It will likely take about two months to identify the bones and analyze the find, Yasin said.
According to a press release from the ministry, the condition of the sarcophagus was “extraordinary” as it remained closed and closed during its 2,000 years of underground life – earthen jars and other artifacts found in the cemetery confirm this.
While the necropolis itself was discovered by accident – found in 2022 by a group of construction workers on a housing project – its existence is hardly surprising. An important trading post for many civilizations throughout history, Gaza is so full of ancient relics that people almost literally stumble upon them: just last year, fragments of a 4,500-year-old statue of a Canaanite goddess were found in a farmer’s field. as well as a Byzantine mosaic about which he wrote, unearthed during his attempts to plant trees. Focus.
The team behind the new discovery say they hope to find much more in the necropolis. Indeed, only ten tombs have been opened so far for excavation, and according to Yasin, there are probably many more sarcophagi waiting to be discovered.
Previously Focus talked about the new secrets of the so-called “golden boy”, a mummy that continues to surprise with new finds.
Source: Focus
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