Thousands of illegally acquired antiquities dating to as far back as the Persian period were seized during a raid in the Jordan Valley area, the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit revealed on Monday.
Included in the cache were approximately 400 ancient coins, pottery fragments, several arrowheads, an antique dagger, and multiple seals and rings, all dating to the Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and Byzantine eras.
Metal detectors and excavation equipment were also seized in the raid.
The raid, a joint operation between the Archaeology Unit, officers from the Judea and Samaria Border Police, soldiers from the IDF’s Jordan Valley Regional Brigade, and inspectors from the Nature and Parks Authority, came as part of a broader push to end antiquities smuggling and illegal excavations in the region.
It targeted the home of an individual suspected of stealing antiquities and conducting illegal excavations in the Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank.
The suspect had been arrested prior to the raid while carrying metal detectors, excavation tools, and several other artifacts.
Trading in antiquities without a permit, bringing antiquities from the West Bank into Israel without a permit, and searching for antiquities without a license using a metal detector are all criminal offenses under Israeli law.
The suspect has since been transferred to the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit for further questioning.
Palestinian doctor arrested for smuggling Second Temple-period coins
Several attempts to smuggle antiquities have been halted over the past few months, including an arrest of a Palestinian doctor back in March for attempting to smuggle dozens of rare coins dating to about 2,000-years-ago through the Hizma checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Border Police officers discovered a box containing the coins during inspections of the doctor’s vehicle, and archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) were called to the scene to verify that they were indeed ancient.
Several of the coins, bearing ancient Hebrew inscriptions, are believed to date to the Second Temple period and the revolts against Rome.
The coins, believed to have been looted from a Jewish archaeological site from that period, include silver shekels from the second and third years of the Great Jewish Revolt and bear the ancient Hebrew inscriptions “Shekel of Israel” and “Jerusalem, the Holy.”
In addition, bronze coins from the fourth year of the revolt were found, bearing an image of the Four Species used during the holiday of Sukkot.
Coins from the Bar Kochba rebellion were also found among the seized coins, bearing the name of the revolt’s leader, “Shimon (Bar Kochba),” on one side, and the phrase “Year two of the freedom of Israel” on the other.
Who oversees antiquities in the West Bank?
The West Bank is home to over 2,600 archaeological and heritage sites, the most famous of which include the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the Qumran Caves in the Judean Desert, and Sebastia (the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Israel) – as well as several Christian and Muslim archaeological sites, including the Church of the Nativity.
Currently, oversight of the West Bank’s antiquities and heritage sites belongs to the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit – a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) – and its staff officer, Benyamin Har Even.
It is responsible for the preservation, management, and development of antiquities and archaeological sites in the West Bank, as well as preventing looting, antiquities smuggling, and illegal excavations in the region.
