The two ancient stones
Photo: Dr. Dalia Manor, the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Be’er Sheva
Antiquities thief returns Roman 'balls'
'They brought me nothing but trouble,' complains anonymous culprit in letter attached to 2,000-year-old projectiles stolen in 1995.
Museum robberies are rare, but rarer still is the thief who anonymously returns his prize.
Gamla is located in the Israeli side of the Golan Heights and the Roman projectiles have no historic connection to Islamic or Near Eastern Cultures.
That's exactly what happened Monday morning when two ancient projectile stones that were stolen from the Gamla Nature Reserve 20 years ago were found at the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Be'er Sheva with a note from the culprit.
The sling stones and the note that accompanied them (Photo: Dr. Dalia Manor, the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Be’er Sheva)
"These are the two Roman catapult balls from Gamla... I stole them in 1995," wrote the thief. "Since then they've brought me nothing but trouble."
The moral of the story? "Please do not steal antiquities!" concluded the anonymous writer.
A map of the site was found in the bag with an X marked on it, probably designating the spot where the stones were taken (Photo: Dr. Dalia Manor, the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Be’er Sheva)
The 2,000-year-old rocks were found by museum employee Amos Cohen with the note and a map of the nature reserve marked with the exact location of the theft.
The ancient city of Gamla was destroyed during a revolt at the end of the Second Temple period. The Romans launched stone projectiles over the walls at attacking forces and archeologists have found some 2,000 similar stones at the site.
