Antiquities thieves arrested near Modi’in

Israeli officers apprehended two antiquities thieves in a cave near the city of Modi’in, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday. 

Two would-be antiquities thieves were caught at this site near the city of Modi'in, the Antiquities Authority said [Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority]

The Antiquities Authority is waging an ongoing battle against looters of the country’s thousands of ancient sites. Many of those apprehended, including the two arrested over the weekend, are West Bank Palestinians. 

The Antiquities Authority said the two men are in their 20s and hail from a Palestinian town near Hebron, in the southern West Bank. 

Officers from the Antiquities Authority’s anti-theft unit caught the men in a cave 4 yards (meters) underground, according to Tuesday’s statement. The site includes agricultural buildings and other structures, as well as a network of underground tunnels dating to the time of the Bar Kochba revolt, around 132 C.E. 

Five would-be antiquities thieves were apprehended in the same area in February of this year. Israel is home to a thriving trade in archaeological artifacts, many of which were illicitly obtained. 

Author: Matti Friedman | Source: The Times of Israel [June 12, 2012]