An ancient tomb of “extraordinary importance” was uncovered in Jerusalem today by workers digging foundations for a new house in the center of the city. Archaeologists from the Hebrew University and the government archaeological service, who inspected the tomb, estimate its age at between 1,900 and 2,000 years.
The tomb was cut into solid rock and then an anteroom and two chambers were constructed in plaster. On two walls of the anteroom which have already been uncovered can clearly be seen drawings of the anteroom which have already been uncovered can clearly be seen drawings of Roman triremes and Roman and Greek inscriptions which have not yet been deciphered.
In the other two rooms are human bones and various artifacts including coins of the Hasmonean area, on which the estimates of the age of the tomb are based. On the walls are a number of inscriptions including some in ancient Hebrew, which also await deciphering. There are signs that the tomb was looted in ancient times, and the archeologists guess that Roman legionnaires besieging Jerusalem may have broken into the chambers.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
