Antiquities inspectors, Border Police take shelter with looters during missile siren in northern Israel

A surprising scene occurred in Israel recently after inspectors from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) caught two looters illegally excavating. 

The inspectors caught the two men digging illegally at the Horvat Hermesh antiquities site, near the Elyakim Interchange in Israel’s north. While transporting the suspects to the police station, the inspectors and Israel Border Police soldiers, who had been called to make the arrest, were forced to stop and take shelter together with the suspects, due to air raid sirens indicating a missile attack. 

Horvat Hermesh is a site where remains of an ancient settlement from the Roman and Byzantine periods (1st century – early 7th century C.E.) were previously uncovered. 

The IAA inspectors identified the two suspects in the midst of an illegal excavation, near the remains of an ancient agricultural installation and said they damaged several of the ancient layers during their illegal excavation. 

Israel Border Police were called to assist in detaining them and transferring them for arrest. While en route to the police station, there was a siren, forcing the inspectors, police officers, and suspects to enter into a roadside shelter with other civilians. The suspects' excavation equipment was seized and the investigation has been launched.

IAA inspectors recently detained another two suspects in the Horvat Drakhmon Nature Reserve on the Carmel Coast. The two suspects, residents of nearby Fureidis, were caught in the act searching for antiquities using metal detectors and digging tools. 

The suspects were found in possession of antiquities that had apparently just been looted from the site, and their equipment was also seized. They were detained for questioning, and the investigation has begun, the IAA stated. 

According to Nir Distelfeld, northern region supervisor of the Israel Antiquities Authority Theft Prevention Unit, “Surrealistically, even in such tense times, when security forces and citizens are faced with life-threatening issues, there are those who try to exploit the situation and search for antiquities in order become enriched, while harming Israel's heritage sites. The Israel Antiquities Authority's Theft Prevention Unit continues its activities on an ongoing basis, even during the war, with the aim of protecting the country's cultural assets and past.”

Israeli Minister of Heritage, Knesset Member Amichai Eliyahu, said, ”Antiquities robbers are not ordinary criminals, but rather saboteurs of history. They know full well that the archaeological finds in the Land of Israel are the infallible proof of our right to this land. Every pottery shard, every coin, and every relic testify that this has been our land and homeland since the days of our forefather Abraham."

Eliyahu continued: "That is why they do not hesitate to harm our history precisely in times of war. Because it is part of the war. The war is over heritage, over history, over the question of who this land belongs to. The nation of Israel is proud of the inspectors of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Border Police soldiers who are fighting an unforgiving struggle even while the sky thunders with missiles.”