Israeli authorities seized approximately 200 ancient artifacts — including coins, arrowheads, and intact pottery — from the home of a Dimona resident in the Negev suspected of illegal antiquities trafficking, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Tuesday.
The nighttime raid, by Israeli Police and Antiquities Authority inspectors, also turned up glass beads, metal items, complete oil lamps, pendants, and two metal detectors believed to have been used to unearth the artifacts. According to the Antiquities Authority, the items date from as early as the Iron Age, around the 9th century BCE, up to the 7th century CE during the Muslim period.
Authorities also discovered three airsoft pistols, a replica M-16 rifle, two old army-issued rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, and roughly NIS 150,000 ($40,000) in cash during the search.
“The findings that were allegedly seized in the suspect’s home indicate robbery and trafficking in antiquities, which were located with the aid of a metal detector and were removed from the ground, allegedly, without a license and in violation of the law,” said Rahamim Farjoun, an Antiquities Authority inspector. “This is heartbreaking. Every ancient object that is removed from its historical and archaeological context loses its scientific and cultural value and harms the historical puzzle of us all.”