Seized Second Temple Ossuaries, Jerusalem

A close-up of Jewish bones in a ossuary displayed by the Israeli Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, March 31, 2014. Eleven ossuaries from the Second Temple Period were discovered in a random check on a Palestinian car near Hizme, outside Jerusalem, on March 27. The ossuaries contain Jewish bones and were taken from caves in Jerusalem. The thieves were on their way to sell them to an anonymous buyer in Tel Aviv. Jews used ossuaries from 100 BC until 70 AD in Jerusalem, where bones were placed in the limestone boxes a year after death. UPI/Debbie Hill