More on the Miriam Ossuary

MORE ON THE MIRIAM OSSUARY: Ossuary Yields New Detail of Gospel Story (The Media Line). This covers the story as already reported, but includes new details here and there. Excerpt:

Assahel Lavi, a former member of the government’s unit for the prevention of the theft of antiquities, said the Judean hills are riddled with thousands of ancient graves, many containing ossuaries and other items spanning the millennium.

“But what attracts the grave robbers the most are the artifacts from the Second Temple period,” Lavi told The Media Line. “Grave robbers want anything with a Jewish symbol on it, like a menorah, from that period because it fetches a lot more money than from other periods.”

Lavi said items with crosses and other symbols from latter times, such as the Byzantine period, were much more common.

“This is one of the leading drivers for grave robbers seeking out ancient Jewish sites from the time of Second Temple,” he said.

Zissu, who was once the commander of the anti-grave robbing unit, said he was very disappointed that the ossuary had not been found in situ, which prevented him from examining it in its archaeological context.

“Sadly, the robbers’ desire of monetary gain has erased entire pages of the country’s cultural history,” Zissu said. “But I’m sure there is more to discover. This land is still full of surprises.”

Indeed and indeed.