The new excavations come less than six months after unsuccessful searches to find traces of possible new victims of Louis and are expected to last several weeks.
Discovery of a uniquely preserved Roman-period burial, just meters from Israel’s Route 40, adds a rare wooden coffin to the Negev corpus and sits opposite a later Byzantine Christian cemetery.
First-known example of overhead ring placement suggests handles were designed as lifting grips for Roman-period wooden coffins, not decorative door knockers.
Israel Antiquities Authority paper records 49 black-fired vessels in a single Mamilla tomb and tracks their decline across the late eighth to early sixth centuries BCE.
The movable finds from this year's excavations include unfinished marble sculptures, mainly of Aphrodite, clay heads of female figures, clay molds, seals, and a very large quantity of pottery.
Israel's Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu states, "Sebastia is one of the most important sites in our national and historical heritage."
Suspects allegedly tried to sell mosaic abroad, including to buyer in Italy.
'The kiln itself is quite rare in Gloucestershire,' said Guarino, highlighting its exceptional preservation.
Well-preserved Roman-era soldiers' dwellings were unearthed, providing a clear picture of daily life at the fortress during the reigns of emperors Diocletian and Maximian.
Rare international excavation recovers fallen soldiers and artifacts from WWI battlefield.
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