History is full of mysteries, and archaeologists in Israel discovered a tomb with a blood-red warning to anyone who attempts to open it. The “cursed tomb” was reportedly found in the recently discovered cave within an ancient burial site in Beit She’Arim, Israel. It is also reported to be the first tomb to be discovered at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 65 years.
mage: Credit: Avishai Teicher/Pen News
The cave was found by researchers a year ago, but recently smaller caves have been found in the main cave. Archaeologists called the tomb important because it was the first in its cultural heritage to identify a dead person as a convert. The tomb’s strange message, written in red, commands people not to open it. It read: “Yaakov Ha’Ger promises to curse anyone who opens this tomb, lest anyone open it.” He is 60 years old.
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Jacob the Proselyte, or convert to Judaism, is translated as “Yaakov Ha’Ger”. No one knows who might have written the threatening message. The message was inscribed, according to an archaeologist from the University of Haifa, to ensure that the graves of the dead were not disturbed. undefined The inscription, according to Elrich, dates from the late Roman or early Byzantine periods, when Christianity was growing in strength.
Image: Credit: Avishai Teicher/Pen News
“The inscription dates from the late Roman or early Byzantine periods, when Christianity flourished. And here we see evidence that there are still people who choose to be Jews. Converts in the Roman period are mostly known from funerary contexts, such as first-century AD Jerusalem or third-to fourth-century AD Rome. However, this is the first proselyte from Beit She’arim, and they were scarce in Galilee at the time. So this is genuine news, “Erlich stated.
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At the moment, we have only processed the registration and blocked the cave. “No excavation is planned at the moment,” he added. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is now in possession of the curse inscription. It could be exposed.
