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Gaza's archaeological discoveries left vulnerable

Archaeological discoveries in the Gaza Strip continue to be neglected amid the government’s failure to protect them, while the citizens who often make these discoveries aren't compensated.
The son of Palestinian farmer Salman al-Nabahin uses a sponge to uncover Byzantine mosaics.

Every archaeological discovery in Gaza reveals a bit more about the civilizations that inhabited the land. These discoveries include mosaics, manuscripts, artifacts and aesthetic elements belonging to mosques and churches. The majority of such discoveries are often found by civilians by chance as a result of the great urban sprawl inside the enclave and in the absence of official excavation and research work on archaeology in Gaza.

Most recently, Salman al-Nabahin, a 51-year-old farmer, discovered a 500-square-meter Byzantine mosaic floor while he was trying to plant an olive tree with his son on the land he inherited from his father in al-Bureij in south Gaza.

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