Israel announced the discovery of an ancient burial cave near Tel Aviv dating from the time of Pharaoh Ramses II, containing dozens of objects that were supposed to accompany the deceased in the afterlife.
The astonishing chance discovery was made when a mechanical excavator was digging in the Palmahim National Park, south of Tel Aviv, and hit a solid surface, which turned out to be the roof of a burial chamber.
When archaeologists went to explore it, they realized that it dated back to the time of Pharaoh Ramses II, specialized media reported.
Considered as one of the greatest pharaohs of Egypt, Ramses II had reigned between 1279 and 1213 BC, that is to say during the half of the 19th dynasty. He controlled Canaan, which encompasses the lands of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and parts of Jordan and Syria.
In addition to several skeletons, one of which is still intact, the cave houses many various artifacts dating back 3,300 years: pottery, chalices, lamps, arrows, iron points, spears, objects that were supposed to accompany the deceased in the afterlife, and which reveal the practices of the time, said Eli Yannai, an expert on the Bronze Age in the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
He added in a statement that “the cave can provide a complete picture of late Bronze Age burial customs. Some objects come from different countries, including Cyprus or Lebanon, and reflect a strong commercial activity along the coast.
The fact that these people were buried with weapons, including whole arrows, shows that these people could have been warriors, perhaps they were guards on ships – which may have been the reason why they were able to obtain ships from all over the region,” he said.
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