Ancient Ossuaries Containing Jewish Remains Seized by Israeli Authorities

UPI | UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
A close-up of seized two thousand year old ossuaries on display by the Israeli Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, March 31, 2014.
ISRAEL---With the help of police in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) was able to thwart of an illegal antique sale between tomb raiders and ancient artifact dealers -- arresting several suspects, last Friday, and confiscating eleven ossuaries, ancient stone coffins containing Jewish remains. The ossuaries are from the Second Temple period, a segment of Jewish history that lasted from 530 BCE to 70 CE. The burial boxes are engraved with a variety of Jewish symbols, including the lily flower, the six-petal rosette and other elements of Jewish art common during that period. [link]