Antiquities thieves arrested near Modi’in

The Israel Antiquities Authority says officers arrested the two as they attempted to loot an ancient cave

By Matti Friedman 12 June 2012, 1:11 pm Edit

Two would-be antiquities thieves were caught at this site near the city of Modi'in, the Antiquities Authority said (photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

Israeli officers apprehended two antiquities thieves in a cave near the city of Modi’in, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday.

The Antiquities Authority is waging an ongoing battle against looters of the country’s thousands of ancient sites. Many of those apprehended, including the two arrested over the weekend, are West Bank Palestinians.

The Antiquities Authority said the two men are in their 20s and hail from a Palestinian town near Hebron, in the southern West Bank.

Officers from the Antiquities Authority’s anti-theft unit caught the men in a cave 4 yards (meters) underground, according to Tuesday’s statement. The site includes agricultural buildings and other structures, as well as a network of underground tunnels dating to the time of the Bar Kochba revolt, around 132 C.E.

Five would-be antiquities thieves were apprehended in the same area in February of this year. Israel is home to a thriving trade in archaeological artifacts, many of which were illicitly obtained.