FLOOR OF ANCIENT BYZANTINE KILN STOLEN:

Byzantine artifact stolen in Israel

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM -- A priceless 1,500-year-old Byzantine era artifact was stolen early Wednesday from an archaeological park near Tel Aviv, police said.

The thieves took a part of the floor of a glass kiln, one of only three still in existence in Israel, police said. They suspect the theft had been commissioned by a private antiques collector.

"This was a part of the glass kiln that served the Byzantine city of Apolonia 1,500 years ago," said archaeologist Hagi Yohanan, director of the Apolonia park built over the ruins of the city.

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