Excavations conducted by Prof. E. Sukenick on behalf of the Hebrew University have led to the discovery in cave tombs outside Jerusalem, of stone coffins dating back to the period of the Hasmoneans up until the time of the destruction of the Second Temple, it was announced here yesterday.
Five closed caves were found, and they contained a large number of ossuaries ornamented in various ways, painted red and yellow and bearing carved or colored inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It appeared from the inscriptions that the caves were used not only to bury citizens of Jerusalem but also as a resting place for the remains of inhabitants of other towns in Palestine and possibly even Jews of other countries. One cave yielded ten ossuaries, arranged in two rows. Each was on a shelf hewn out of the stone floor. They bore inscriptions, the majority in Greek, two in Hebrew.
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