New Delhi: Construction workers at a building site in northern Gaza, a Palestinian enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, have unearthed 31 Roman-era-tombs dating from the first century AD. Gaza, also known as Gaza Strip, borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.
The tombs were uncovered near the town of Beit Lahia, Gaza, the Palestian territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas said Monday, news agency AFP reported.
Work had recently begun on an Egyptian-funded residential area, which is when the discovery was made, an AFP report said. This area is part of the $500 million reconstruction package Cairo, the capital of Egypt, pledged after the 11-day war in May, last year, between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
According to the AFP report, Naji Sarhan, an official at Gaza's Ministry of Public Works, confirmed the discovery. He said that there is "evidence that there are other graves" at the site.
Following the discovery of the tombs, construction work has been halted. According to the report, officials said that technicians from Gaza's Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism have been sent to the site to catalogue gravestones and artefacts.
The tombs were believed to be part of a cemetery linked to a nearby Roman site in Balakhiya, a technician said, according to the report.
Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, an Israeli blockade was imposed. As a result, tourism to archaeological sites is limited in Gaza. The discovery was the latest archaeological find in Gaza, the AFP report said.
Gaza, an impoverished strip, is home to about 2.3 million Palestinians. Israel and Egypt tightly restrict the flow of people in and out of Gaza, the report stated.
Following a years-long restoration effort backed by foreign donors, Hamas reopened the remains of a fifth-century Byzantine church last month, the report said.