Illustration
Photo: AP
Skull found near Ein Harod in northern Israel
Police believes skull found by hikers in pit was archeological finding, not recent remains of body, say finding 'was probably exposed now due to weather conditions.'
Hikers found the remains of a human skull in a pit in northern Israel near Ein Harod on Saturday.
Policemen called to the scene estimated the skull was an archeological finding rather than the remains of a body that was buried there due to criminal activity.
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"The skull was probably exposed now due to weather conditions, or some animal digging it up to the surface," Commander Menashe said. "We informed the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and their inspector is at the scene. In any case we're obligated by law to send the skull for forensic tests at the police's labs," he added.
The IAA said that the area in which the skull was found is an archeological site called Hurvat Kumi and that an inspection will be carried out in the coming days in an attempt to determine where the skull came from, as well as check the condition of the site.
There were several cases of bones found in northern Israel in the past, and in many of these cases it turned out they were ancient bones. At the same time, remains of Syrian soldiers killed during the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars are sometimes found in the Golan Heights.
