Boxes buried 2,000 years old

Israeli officials recently announced 11 burial boxes, dating back over 2,000 years, stolen not long ago.

Fox News said the boxes were confiscated by Israeli police on March 28 on the outskirts of Jerusalem. When they discovered they were signs of archeological artifacts, the police informed the Israeli Antiquities Agency (IAA).

According to experts, these boxes are used to place the remains of the deceased. They may be from the Second Temple period (Second Temple, 516 BC to 70 AD).

Burial boxes were discovered in Israel.(Photo: IAA)

Some burial boxes dating to 2,000 years old are engraved with elaborate decorations, carvings and even names of people. The carving symbolizes prosperity and the high social position of the buried person. Inside the box were pieces of bone, along with remnants of what the expert group considered pottery buried with the dead.

Eitan Klein, deputy director of the IAA, believes that these boxes originate from an area near Mount Scopus. The thieves may have stolen from a cave buried the number of these artifacts, or the cave may be discovered by chance in an excavation or construction project.

Experts said that from each burial box, they could understand many other aspects in terms of language, art, culture and customs of the ancients.

According to the Jewish custom of living during this period, the dead will not be buried immediately but taken into the cave for a year. Their remains will then be stored in special boxes.