Rameses II , often referred to as Rameses the Great , ruled over an empire that extended far beyondthe Nile , include up the Mediterranean coast and taking in what is now Gaza , Israel , Lebanon , and parts of Syria . Somewhere during that military control , it seems some of his subject supported the cap of a cave around 12 kilometre ( 7 miles ) to the south of what is now Tel Aviv with a central mainstay and entombed some bronze artefact . The items remained undisturbed over thousands of age as mastery of the localization shift countless times .
“ This is a once - in - a - lifetime discovery ! It is extremely uncommon to come across an ‘ Indiana Jones film set”—a cave flooring put out with vessels untouched for 3,300 age , since the Late Bronze Age , ” said Dr Eli Yannai of the IAA in a statement sent to IFLScience .
“ The fact that the cave was sealed , and not looted in later periods , will allow us to employ the modern scientific methods available today , to retrieve much selective information from the artifacts and from the residual extant on the vessels , for example , organic stiff that are not visible to the naked eye , ” Yannai added . “ The cave may provide a complete ikon of the tardy Bronze Age funerary tradition . The cave preponderantly arrest 10 of pottery vessels of unlike forms and sizes , including deep and shallow bowl , some red - paint , footed goblet , cooking pots , memory jarful , and lamps for light . ”
The first people in the burial chamber for 3,300 years. Image credit: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
The discovery is too new for the point to have been properly try , but Yannai has identified some as having come from further northerly along the coastline , with others being products of Cyprus . Rameses II may have been so tyrannical to his subjects that he isconsidered a candidatefor the Biblical Pharoah on whom theten plagueswere impose , but the constancy of his reign facilitated swop . Indeed , one of Rameses ’ greatest victory was over sea rover feed on Mediterranean cargo ships .
There is a winding to this tale , however . Having make it three millennia without being robbed , some items from the cave were snatched between its discovery and the IAA conducting its judgement . This is despite the fact the site was guard the whole clock time . IAA official are very keen to get the items back , and the consequences of theft of antiquity in Israel are severe , even if you ’re not worried about ancient curses that have been establish power all this fourth dimension .
IAA Director Eli Eskosido articulate : “ The news of the discovery of the cave spread like wildfire in the academic world , and we have already received requests from many scholars to take part in the planned archaeologic dig . ”
Palmahim Park already host anarchaeology trail , but while some site in the park particular date back two hundred further than the late find , most are from the period when it was a Muslim fortress against Crusader campaigns .
Why the power shovel was operating in a National Park has not been disclosed .
