Arcosolium robbers thwarted in the Galilee

MORE LOOTING ARRESTS: Israeli Antiquities Squad Stops Wannabe’ ‘Tomb Raiders’ at Ancient Roman Catacomb (Tazpit News Agency/The Jewish Press).

By Michael Zeff In a dramatic ambush operation, Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) officials caught two would-be grave robbers red-handed as they tried to pilfer an ancient Roman period burial site in the Galilee today.

IAA anti-theft task force officials apprehended the duo moments before they breached the burial chamber on Sunday, task force chief Nir Distelfeld told the Tazpit News Agency “We managed to prevent severe desecration and irreversible damage to a beautiful and important catacomb,” Distelfeld said.

The burial chamber, called an Arcosolium, was part of a larger set of underground catacombs located on a preservation site of ancient Roman and Byzantine ruins in the upper Galilee. The suspects managed to dig their way into the main cave but were stopped by task force members before they succeeded in damaging or stealing any antiquities.

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