With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Roman tombs found in south Lebanon cave

TYRE, Lebanon — Japanese archaeologists discovered a cave containing frescoed Roman tombs in southern Lebanon's ancient coastal city of Tyre on Monday, an official overseeing the excavation said.

The three-metre by 12-metre (10-foot by 39-foot) cave contains six tombs from a Roman family, archaeologist Nader Siqlawi of the Directorate General of Antiquities told AFP.

"The walls at the entrance are decorated with frescoes of plants, animals and colourful birds, and parts of the floor are covered in mosaic," Siqlawi said.

Seven Japanese archaeologists from the Nara University Department of Preservation of Cultural Properties discovered the tombs in the rocky town of Burj al-Shemali on Tyre's eastern outskirts on Monday morning.
Read entire article at AFP