JAKARTA - A sarkofagus from the Roman era was discovered last Tuesday at the 2000-year-old Roman cemetery in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. The necropolis is along the coast of North Gaza and 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the sea.
The Sarkofagus may belong to a prominent individual based on where it was found, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' director of excavation and museum Jehad Yasin told CNN as quoted on February 18.
The coffin was excavated from the site for archaeological analysis for bone identification, which would take about two months, according to Yasin.
An ancient team of funeral experts will unlock the coffin seal in the coming weeks.
Although Gaza is a place often bombarded from the air and blocked from land, air and sea by Israel and Egypt, the sarkofagus remains intact.
"The condition of the preservation of the sarkofagus is extraordinary, because it is still sealed and closed," reads a press release from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
A lead sarcophagus belonging to a Roman-era dignitary has been uncovered by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities during archaeological excavations in the Roman Cemetery in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/lhVfkhrg60
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 14, 2023
Yasin said the ancient Roman cemetery was discovered in 2022 "when excavations were carried out at the site, it collaborated with Premiere Urgence Internationale and was funded by the British Council."
Premiere Urgence Internationale, a French humanitarian organization, has collaborated on "resisting Palestinian cultural heritage" projects in Gaza under a program called INTIQAL.
It is known that French and Palestinian archaeologists have found 85 individual and collective graves in the Roman acropolis covering an area of 3,500 square meters since its discovery last year. About 10 of them have been opened for excavation.
Behind the ruins of the coastal area are dozens of artifacts and burial sites from the Roman, Byzantine, and lecherous eras.
Last year, a Palestinian farmer discovered the head of a 4,500-year-old goddess statue. While other Palestinian farmers found mosaics from the Byzantine era in his garden.
In 2022, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities will release their first Arab archaeological guide entitled "Gaza, Gate to Levant." This guide maps 39 archaeological sites in Gaza, including churches, mosques and ancient 6,000-year-old houses.
It is known, the ministry expects more archaeological findings at the cemetery. Yasin said further sarkofagus would likely be found in the following months.
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