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Archaeologists discovered a 2200-year-old pyramid structure in the Judea Desert near the Dead Sea, which included stones weighing hundreds of pounds each.
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The early returns of excavations have already contributed to artifacts, from historical documents to bronze vessels and ancient furniture.
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The more current investigation hopes to understand the use of the site, whether as a security tower, monument or even a fortress of the tax collector.
The mystery surrounding the opening of a 2200-year-old pyramid in the Judas Desert near the Dead Sea comes with many clues. Filled with Greek historical documents written on papyrus, bronze coins carved under Greek rulers, weapons, enough and even ancient furniture, impatient archaeologists hope to dig the looting to find out why this building exists.
Active at the time when the Ptolemy and Seleurcides ruled Israel, the site of about 12 miles south of Masada and described as “huge” by Israeli antiquity of antiquity, is of great historical importance. “What we have here is one of the richest and most intriguing archeological excavations ever discovered in the Jewsky Desert,” said excavations directors in a statement on behalf of the authority. “This pyramidal structure we found is huge and made of hand -speaking stones, each weighing hundreds of kilograms.”
Already in the first week of excavations, volunteers working with the body found written historical documents, bronze vessels, wooden instruments, fabrics and more, all preserved from the desert climate. “This is a very promising site,” the team writes, “new findings have been discovered at any moment and we are filled with expectation.”
Part of a larger archaeological operation of the Jewish desert, which began eight years ago to save potential finds from illegal excavations and thefts, a specialized department to prevent robbery systematically examines the desert of 112 miles of rocks, finding approximately 900 caves. The teams found thousands of rare objects, including scrolls intentionally hidden. Finding a pyramid was an unexpected discovery.
“This excavations are changing the historical record of the site,” writes the three excavation leaders. “Contrary to the previous hypotheses that attribute this structure to the first temple period, it seems that it was built later – during the Hellenistic period – when the land of Israel was under Ptolemy rule.”
The team does not know the purpose of the director in Greek, whether a guard tower, which protects a commercial route that brought dead sea salt and bitumen to the ports, or maybe even just a monument to the mountain. The team calls it a “fascinating historical mystery” that excavations help to unravel.
The leading theories include that the building was a road protection fortress, but it can also serve to accommodate tax collectors working while travelers pass by. The team believes that it was later reused as a monumental tomb.
“At first we decided that the site could just be a tomb, but later we noticed the shape of the original walls and realized that the structure was a building,” said Eitan Klein, one of the three leading archaeologists of the excavation, said Eitan Klein, one of the three leading archaeologists of the excavations The times of IsraelS “In the end, we identified it as a tower or fortress dating from the Hellenistic period, or 2 200 years ago.”
Ptolemaic coins helped meet the building. The team also discovered coins from the Kingdom of Selecid, which leads Israel after the rule of Ptolemy, probably using the building in use in the third and first half of the second century BC.
The coins of the era of the Seleucid, cut under the anti -Epiphanes, which Judas McAbi won in 164 BC, showed the longevity of the site, but Klein said there was no evidence that hinted why the building was released, although it collapsed at some point. Evidence shows that during Roman times the building was reused as a monumental grave, probably because of its picturesque place on a hill. The citys have largely emptied the grave part of the site.
“The Judea Desert Study is one of the most important archaeological operations ever undertaken in Israel’s history,” said Eli Escudo, director of the Israeli antique organ. “The discoveries are exciting and even emotional and their importance for archeological and historical studies is enormous.”
The study of the Papyrus documents has not yet begun, but Klein believes that this can be part of the tax documents. “Finding written records for such a long time ago,” he said, “and the dream of every archeologist.”
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