<p>Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the "once-in-a-lifetime" discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artefacts.</p>.<p>The cave was uncovered on a beach Tuesday, when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.</p>.<p>In a video released by the Israel Antiquities Authority, gobsmacked archaeologists shine flashlights on dozens of pottery vessels in a variety of forms and sizes, dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king who died in 1213 BC.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/it-s-raining-artefacts-as-curtains-set-to-draw-on-excavations-in-tamil-nadu-1144881.html" target="_blank">It’s raining artefacts as curtains set to draw on excavations in Tamil Nadu</a></strong></p>.<p>Bowls -- some of them painted red, some containing bones -- footed chalices, cooking pots, storage jars, lamps and bronze arrowheads or spearheads could be seen in the cave.</p>.<p>The objects were burial offerings to accompany the deceased on their last journey to the afterlife, found untouched since being placed there about 3,300 years ago.</p>.<p>At least one relatively intact skeleton was also found in two rectangular plots in the corner of the cave.</p>.<p>"The cave may furnish a complete picture of the Late Bronze Age funerary customs," said Eli Yannai, an IAA Bronze Age expert.</p>.<p>It is an "extremely rare... once-in-a-lifetime discovery", Yannai said, pointing to the extra fortune of the cave having remained sealed until its recent uncovering.</p>.<p>The findings date to the reign of Rameses II, who controlled Canaan, a territory that roughly encompassed modern day Israel and the Palestinian territories.</p>.<p>The provenance of the pottery vessels -- Cyprus, Lebanon, northern Syria, Gaza and Jaffa -- is testimony to the "lively trading activity that took place along the coast", Yannai said in an IAA statement.</p>.<p>The cave has been resealed and is under guard while a plan for its excavation is being formulated, the IAA said, noting "a few items" had been looted from it in the short period of time between its discovery and closure.</p>
<p>Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the "once-in-a-lifetime" discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artefacts.</p>.<p>The cave was uncovered on a beach Tuesday, when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.</p>.<p>In a video released by the Israel Antiquities Authority, gobsmacked archaeologists shine flashlights on dozens of pottery vessels in a variety of forms and sizes, dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king who died in 1213 BC.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/it-s-raining-artefacts-as-curtains-set-to-draw-on-excavations-in-tamil-nadu-1144881.html" target="_blank">It’s raining artefacts as curtains set to draw on excavations in Tamil Nadu</a></strong></p>.<p>Bowls -- some of them painted red, some containing bones -- footed chalices, cooking pots, storage jars, lamps and bronze arrowheads or spearheads could be seen in the cave.</p>.<p>The objects were burial offerings to accompany the deceased on their last journey to the afterlife, found untouched since being placed there about 3,300 years ago.</p>.<p>At least one relatively intact skeleton was also found in two rectangular plots in the corner of the cave.</p>.<p>"The cave may furnish a complete picture of the Late Bronze Age funerary customs," said Eli Yannai, an IAA Bronze Age expert.</p>.<p>It is an "extremely rare... once-in-a-lifetime discovery", Yannai said, pointing to the extra fortune of the cave having remained sealed until its recent uncovering.</p>.<p>The findings date to the reign of Rameses II, who controlled Canaan, a territory that roughly encompassed modern day Israel and the Palestinian territories.</p>.<p>The provenance of the pottery vessels -- Cyprus, Lebanon, northern Syria, Gaza and Jaffa -- is testimony to the "lively trading activity that took place along the coast", Yannai said in an IAA statement.</p>.<p>The cave has been resealed and is under guard while a plan for its excavation is being formulated, the IAA said, noting "a few items" had been looted from it in the short period of time between its discovery and closure.</p>