Artillery shell found in Jaffa dating back to 1905
110 year-old artillery shell found in Jaffa
Authorities close down roads in Jaffa before bomb disposal team arrives to neutralize shell found in excavation site.
An artillery shell more than 100 years old was found Monday morning at an excavation site of the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jaffa.
Immediately after the shell was found, authorities closed down the roads surrounding the site until a bomb disposal unit arrived to neutralize the weapon.
The 110-year-old artillery shell found in Jaffa
About 50 workers were digging at the site and were shocked to find the rare shell. "We found a copper casing of a shell, with the year it was made inscribed on it – 1905," said the manager of the dig Lior Rauchberger.
"Every once in a while we find ammunition and weapons in archeological digs and in Jaffa especially. Through the years we discovered a cannon from the Ottoman period, cannon balls and dozens of rifles," he added.
Israel Antiquities Authority excavation site in Jaffa
In 2007, during construction work at the Jaffa Railway Station, about 80 different types of rifles were found, some dating back to the British Mandate.
"According to our estimates, these were rifles that the Brits destroyed and threw into a pit," said the manager of the archeological site at the train station at the time, Dr. Yoav Arbel.
"Some of the rifles were also used during the 1929 Palestine riots (also known as the Western Wall Uprising). In addition, we found bullets and bullet casings from the entire 19th century," said Dr. Arbel at the time.
The archeological digs that have been taking place in Jaffa today are known as salvage excavations and their goal is to find ancient artifacts before infrastructure for water, electricity and housing is laid.
Since the Jaffa area is a central archeological site, the chances of finding ancient objects are high.
