They dug a pit for themselves: Antiquities robbers caught red-handed in the destruction of an ancient winepress

January 30, 2023   

A gang of antiquities robbers was caught red-handed yesterday (Sunday) while destroying an ancient winepress and mosaic at the Horbat Suger in the Western Galilee. The two robbers were captured in a joint operation by inspectors from the Antiquities Robbery Prevention Unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority, an inspector from the Nature and Parks Authority, and soldiers from the Border Police Coastal Region Settlements Unit. The arrest was made after yesterday afternoon, during a routine inspection activity, the unit's inspectors noticed an SUV parked and hidden among the bushes at the antiquities site, in a way that aroused their suspicion. The scans they conducted identified suspicious activity at the antiquities site, where there are remains of a settlement dating back to the Roman period - some two thousand years ago. The Antiquities Authority inspectors, with the assistance of an Antiquities Inspector and a team of Border Police soldiers, sneaked into the area and managed to surprise and capture the suspects inside the pit they had dug at the site, illegally. An ancient winepress emerged from the pit that was used to make wine during the Roman-Byzantine period. The suspects caused extensive damage to the floor of the winepress, which was made of white mosaic stones: the suspects uprooted The ancient floor was removed from its place and they continued to dig underneath it, causing destruction and irreversible damage to the antiquities site. The walls of the winepress, which were plastered with a layer of ancient plaster, were also damaged during the excavation. The two suspects were arrested on the spot, interrogated at the Nahariya police station, and an indictment will be filed against them later. Nir Distelfeld, supervisor of the Antiquities Authority's Robbery Prevention Unit in the northern region: "The damage to the site is heartbreaking. The excavation dislodged a mosaic floor that had stood here undisturbed for about two thousand years. Horbat Suger was a thriving settlement in ancient times; a similar winepress was previously found at the site, which allowed researchers to learn about the development of agricultural industries in the area during the Roman and Byzantine periods. "Recently, antiquities robbers have put the ruin 'in their sights' for a reason that is unknown to us. Just recently, five suspects in the robbery of antiquities were arrested at the same site, while digging in a burial cave.".