Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the “unique” discovery of a burial cave dating to the time of Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, filled with dozens of ceramic pieces and bronze artifacts.

The cave was uncovered on a beach on Tuesday when a mechanical excavator working in Palmahim National Park struck its roof and archaeologists used a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.

In a video released by the Israel Antiquities Authority, amazed archaeologists shine flashlights on dozens of ceramic vessels of a variety of shapes and sizes, dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king who died in 1213 BC. died.

Inside the cave were bowls – some painted red, others with bones – chalices, saucepans, storage jars, lamps, and bronze arrowheads or spearheads.

The objects were burial objects that accompanied the deceased on their final journey to the afterlife and have been found untouched since they were placed there some 3,300 years ago.

At least one relatively intact skeleton was also found in two rectangular plots in the corner of the cave.

“The cave could provide a complete picture of Late Bronze Age burial customs,” said Eli Yannai, an IAA Bronze Age expert.

It’s an “extremely rare…unique discovery,” Yannai said, noting the additional assets of the cave, which remained sealed until its recent uncovering.

The finds date from the reign of Ramses II, who controlled Canaan, an area roughly encompassing present-day Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The origins of the pottery vessels — Cyprus, Lebanon, northern Syria, Gaza and Jaffa — testify to “lively commercial activity along the coast,” Yannai said in an ILO statement.

Another ILO archaeologist, David Gelman, theorized the identity of the skeletons in the cave, located on what is now a popular beach in central Israel.

“The fact that these people were buried along with weapons, including whole arrows, shows that these people might have been warriors, perhaps they were sentries on ships – which is possibly why they were able to source ships from around the area, ” he said.

Regardless of who the occupants of the cave were, the find was “amazing,” Gelman said.

“Burial caves are so rare, and finding one that hasn’t been touched since it was first used 3,300 years ago is something that’s rare to find,” he said.

“It feels like something out of an Indiana Jones film: you just go into the ground and everything is there as it was originally – pottery vessels intact, weapons, bronze vessels, burials as they were.”

The cave has been resealed and is being guarded while a plan for its excavation is formulated, the IAA said.

It found that “some items” had been looted in the short time between its discovery and closure.