A Palestinian worker works near a lead sarcophagus inside a cemetery in northern Gaza Strip, July 16, 2023. A second Roman-era sarcophagus made out of lead was recently uncovered at an excavation site of a cemetery located in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
GAZA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A second Roman-era sarcophagus made out of lead was recently uncovered at an excavation site of a cemetery located in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Sunday.
"The new sarcophagus was found during excavation work inside a cemetery discovered in March 2022 in the northern Gaza Strip," Jamal Abu Rida, director-general of the ministry, told Xinhua.
Several other antiquities, including the first sarcophagus made out of lead, pottery jars, and glass vessels, had been unearthed in the cemetery before this discovery, according to Abu Rida.
"The first sarcophagus was found in February and was transferred to the ministry's museum in Gaza," said the official, adding his ministry had invited French experts to Gaza for research on the sarcophagus.
Technical teams from the ministry have been working with foreign experts to analyze the cultural manifestations of the findings, Abu Rida noted.
In March 2022, the ministry discovered a 2,000-year-old cemetery covering an area of 4,000 square meters that was later found to include 125 tombs of different shapes and sizes, according to Abu Rida.
Home to more than 2 million people, the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip, run by the Islamist Palestinian armed group Hamas, is one of the oldest regions known to history as a trade nexus for Arab merchants. ■
A Palestinian archaeologist works on a sarcophagus inside a cemetery in northern Gaza Strip, July 16, 2023. A second Roman-era sarcophagus made out of lead was recently uncovered at an excavation site of a cemetery located in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Palestinian workers work near a lead sarcophagus inside a cemetery in northern Gaza Strip, July 16, 2023. A second Roman-era sarcophagus made out of lead was recently uncovered at an excavation site of a cemetery located in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
