JERUSALEM, Israel – Beneath Israel’s surface, a battle is underway over the foundations of biblical history. Looters are targeting priceless artifacts, and experts warn that the real loss is much worse than financial.
In the hills surrounding Jerusalem, history is under attack. We went to the scene of a modern crime that connects directly with the stories of the Bible, and met with Dr. Eitan Klein from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Klein told us, “This is the entrance to Jerusalem. Actually, we are on the slopes of Mount Scopus. At that site here, we caught the looters last month.”
We noted that the place didn’t look like an archaeological site.
Klein responded, “It is,” and picked up a shard of pottery. He remarked, “Actually, I’m almost positive that it’s from the Second Temple Period.”
With evidence like the pottery shard scattered in plain sight, looters know where to look for more, and Dr. Klein’s team moved in to stop them in the middle of the night.
Dr. Klein explained, “From here, we started running.”
We asked, “How did they know this was the spot to dig?”
He replied, “So, you can see that the rock is cut. Okay? It’s an ancient cutting. It’s a quarry, and they were looking for the entrance of a cave.”
While investigators caught them in the act, damage had already been done. We asked Dr. Klein what that does to the science. He answered, “Actually, it’s a total loss here. This cave.”
The scene of destruction we witnessed is only half the story. Just a few miles away, at the Israel Antiquities Authority, what has been recovered reveals what is still at stake. Klein told us, “You need to know that almost every night, someone is trying to steal antiquities all around the State of Israel.”
The State of Israel is not big, smaller, even, than the size of New Jersey.
However, Dr. Klein noted, “Yes, but the State of Israel has so many archaeological sites and very important archaeological sites. This is the place where Jesus walked.”
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Many of the items on display by the IAA come from burial caves, which often remained sealed for centuries. Klein remarked, “It’s our dream to enter into a cave that no one touched it before, and then you can find that very important and very interesting items that can build you a story.” That story also includes ancient coins. To thieves, they mean cash. To archaeologists, they unlock history.
We noted a huge pile of ancient coins at the IAA. Dr. Klein explained,
Dr. Klein explained, It’s very common in archaeological excavations to find coins, and it’s very important to find coins because it dates the level…you can see who was the ruler…but the looters, usually they look for coins, and they look for coins with a metal detector. So, it’s like they’re a weapon. This is what I said: that they are stealing our history. It’s a piece of history.”
We surmised that the coins had a lot of value because of the high price of gold. Klein answered, “So what you see here is gold, but I see archaeological items…it’s not one piece that is gone or vanished…it’s many, many pieces of history that now I cannot complete. I cannot complete the story.”
Even during a time of war, looting continues, and for Klein, the mission to stop it is deeply personal.
We asked him if he felt like he was participating in the story of Israel.
He replied, “The stories about the land of Israel, the people of Israel, the biblical stories and others, they spoke to me…This is the land where most of the stories that our heritage is based on – it was here, and we have to protect it.”
