2,000-year-old Roman cemetery discovered in northern Gaza Strip
February 17, 2022, 4:49 pm

2,000-year-old Roman cemetery discovered in northern Gaza Strip

Roman cemetery (File photo: Pixabay)

The Asharq AL-Awsat reported, 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery containing at least 20 ornately decorated graves has been uncovered near the shoreline in the northern Gaza Strip, with the antiquities ministry calling it the most important local discovery of the past decade.

Gaza is rich with antiquities having been an important trading spot for many civilizations, from as far back as the ancient Egyptians and the Philistines depicted in the Bible, through the Roman empire and the crusades.

Ruins discovered there include the remains of a siege by Alexander the Great as well as a Mongol invasion.

Twenty Roman graves have been located so far and the team expects to unearth 80 in total within the 50-square-meter cemetery. Only two graves have been opened, one contained skeletal remains and some clay jars.

Jamal Abu Rida, director-general of Gaza's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said that because of the shape of the graves and the relatively ornate decorations, they likely belonged to "senior ranking people" in the Roman empire during the first century.

Occupied Palestine-Gaza city-People of Gaza (File photo:Pixabay)

Reuters quoted him as saying said that unlike Muslim graves from later periods that face north to south, the Roman graves lie east to west.

Abu Rida said: "We have made several discoveries in the past, this is the most important archaeological discovery in the past 10 years."

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The ministry said that the area is closed off to journalists and the public while the site is organized and made safe for visitors.

The site, which is being supervised by a French team of experts, was found by a construction crew working on an Egyptian-funded housing project. When they came upon some of the cemetery's large, ancient bricks, they stopped work and called in the archaeologists.

Gaza is run by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has fought four wars with Israel since 2008.

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Abu Rida said that the conflict has crippled the local economy and authorities usually engage international groups to help excavate and preserve archaeological findings.

Source: aawsat

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Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

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