History is full of mysteries and archaeologists in Israel have stumbled upon a tomb with a blood-red warning to anyone who tries to open it.?
According to reports, the 'cursed tomb' was found in the recently unearthed cave within an ancient cemetery in Beit She'arim, Israel.?
This is also reportedly the first tomb to be discovered at the UNESCO World Heritage Site for 65 years. The cave was found by researchers a year ago but smaller caves within the main one were found recently. The archaeologists termed the tomb significant because it was the first ever within the heritage site to identify a dead person as a convert.
The tomb's strange message inscribed on it in red orders people not to open it.?
It read: ¡°Yaakov Ha¡¯Ger vows to curse anybody who would open this grave, so nobody will open it. 60 years old.¡±?
'Yaakov Ha'Ger' translates to Jacob the proselyte, which means a convert to Judaism. Nothing is known about who could have written the threatening warning.?
An archaeologist from the University of Haifa said the message was inscribed to ensure the resting place of the dead remained undisturbed.?
"It was to prevent others from opening the tomb at a later point, which happened quite often - re-using tombs through time," said Adi Erlich.
Elrich also said that the inscription is from the late Roman or early Byzantine period - a time when Christianity was strengthened.?
"The inscription is from the late Roman or early Byzantine period, in which Christianity was strengthened. And here we find evidence that there are still people who choose to join the Jewish people. We know of converts in the Roman period mostly from funerary contexts, such as first-century AD Jerusalem, or third to fourth-century AD Rome. But this is the first proselyte from Beit She'arim, and they are not well attested from that time in Galilee. So this is real news,¡± Erlich said.?
"We just took care of the inscription and blocked the cave to keep it safe for the time being. No excavations are planned at the moment," she added.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) are now in possession of the curse inscription.?It might be put up on display.??
With quotes from UNILAD.
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