Artifacts from the Second Temple Period that have recently been discovered at a dig near the Cave of Patriarchs could be lost as a result of a legal battle.
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The artifacts were discovered during construction works that began earlier this year as part of the effort to make the site more accessible to disabled people.
They include artifacts from various eras, including that of the Ottoman Empire. Among the finds is a chiseled stone that belonged to the nearby Cave of the Patriarchs but was disposed of for some reason, as well as various stones that served as part of a foundation of a building from the Second Temple Period and vestiges of a fort built by the Crusaders.
But the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, which runs the place on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, has decided to seal the excavations with soil in order to make way for a path for disabled visitors. This is partly because of a technicality: The works have been carried out in a limited capacity only as an extension of a license that is limited for the specific accessibility project. The permit cannot be used for an official archaeological purpose and limits excavation only to the extent necessary.
Jewish residents of Hebron have recently launched a campaign to save the artifacts. Noam Arnon, who serves as the community's spokesman, has already written to the Israeli authorities in an effort to reverse the decision. In the letter to the Ministry of Culture and Sports he wrote, "There is no disagreement about making the site accessible but covering the dig is unnecessary and would cause avoidable harm to precious items that have scientific, cultural, archaeological, and tourism values."
Arnon further told Israel Hayom that there is a way to implement an alternative plan to make this place accessible without inflicting harm on the important artifacts. "There is no doubt that covering the dig would be interpreted by many around the world as a deliberate effort to hurt artifacts and findings from the Islamic period and as a means of erasing part of the physical historical-cultural heritage of the land. This could also result in much worse damage carried out by Palestinians against Jewish sites in retaliation." He further added: "This is a colossal mistake, we have put forth an alternative path that is less expensive and solves this problem. We have been told by the authorities that there is a legal problem, so they should solve it. They shouldn't cover everything and sabotage our history."
The Civil Administration said in a statement that "upon completing the investigation, the professional recommendation was to cover the archaeological finds in a way that would preserve them intact and protect them, in a way that would allow for the site to be developed in the future and have it open to the general public. The Civil Administration considered it paramount to preserve archaeological artifacts and religious-historic sites, as it continues to work toward making the Cave of the Patriarchs more accessible."
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