Move Over, Indiana Jones! Rappelling into caves in the Israeli desert, archeologists unearth biblical scroll fragments, 6,000-year-old skeleton and the oldest basket in the world in mega-dig. Author: Naama Barak, Israel 21c In an operation that would put Indiana Jones to shame, a huge anti-looting dig carried out in the Judean Desert has unearthed historical finds of great significance, including fragments of ancient biblical scrolls, a 6,000-year-old skeleton of a young child, coins used by Jewish rebels and the oldest woven basket known to mankind. The operation began in 2017, when the Israel Antiquities Authority, government agencies and volunteers set to survey 50 miles of caves in the Dead Sea area using drones, rappelling and mountain climbing techniques to access the almost unreachable caves. The climatic conditions in these caves enabled the preservation of ancient documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls that include the earliest known copies of the Biblical Books and as such have drawn the attention of looters out to make a fortune. The Cave of Horror was also found to contain a partially mummified skeleton of a child wrapped in cloth that dates back some 6,000 years. Researchers believe that the child was probably a girl and was six to 12 years old at the time of her death. Another find, this time revealed by volunteering youth, was a huge, intact woven basket with a lid that dates back some 10,500 years ago, providing information on storage in the times before the invention of pottery. The researchers believe it to be the oldest such basket to be found in the world and note that it was preserved so well due to arid conditions. “The desert team showed exceptional courage, dedication and devotion to purpose”, says IAA director Israel Hasson, “rappelling down to caves located between heaven and earth, digging and sifting through them, enduring thick and suffocating dust, and returning with gifts of immeasurable worth for mankind.” Source: Israel 21c ? Eitan Klein, Emil Aladjem & Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority ?? IF YOU LOVE ISRAEL - SHARE NEWSRAEL! ??