Israel finds weapons 'in excellent condition' from the Roman Empire

Israel on Wednesday unveiled in Jerusalem weapons dating from Roman times discovered this summer in a cave in the Judean Desert, an "unprecedented" find, an official said. "This is a unique and important discovery, unprecedented in Israel," said Eitan Klein, deputy director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) department, in front of four swords and a pilum, a kind of small javelin, old of 1900 years and of which he underlined the "excellent state". The objects were found in June as part of a project to study the Judean Desert, in one of hundreds of caves excavated in recent years in an area near the Ein Gedi nature reserve, on the edges of the Dead Sea, explained the AIA. The precise location has not been revealed for fear of "looting", she added on the sidelines of the presentation.

The Judean Desert today straddles Israel and the occupied West Bank. An AIA spokeswoman said the find was made in Israeli territory. “We believe these weapons were used during the Bar Kokhba rebellion,” said Eitan Klein, referring to the last of the Jewish-Roman wars, in the 2nd century A.D. According to him, the weapons were seized by Jews from Judea on Roman soldiers, and would have constituted "booty". “We are just beginning to understand what this could be,” said Guy Stiebel, professor at Tel Aviv University and specialist in the Roman Empire. Stating, "It's not just about the Jews, it's about the Romans, it's about the whole Roman Empire, and history is a complex thing, and we have to be patient and study (these weapons) little by little.