Excavations

The fragment, found at the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusha, contains provisions on people fleeing between Egypt and Hatti and the protection of their homes.

“Our job is to tell the story of these people, because we are here and we can learn a lot from them," Dagan told The Jerusalem Post.

"One of the [tombs] contained a clay coffin with a small headless figurine of a pregnant woman," Muhammad Lashkri, director of antiquities and heritage affairs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said.

Trading in antiquities without a permit and searching for antiquities without a license using a metal detector are all criminal offenses under Israeli law.

Residents have reported finding droppings near children's beds and even incidents where injured residents needed to be hospitalized for proper treatment. 

The moving discovery came alongside a visit by Russia’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Berel Lazar, to the main summer camp outside Moscow.

Previously, a total of 44 other Roman graves were discovered during excavations for the project, however the most recent find is the first to be fully undisturbed. 

The mosaic was first discovered nearly 30 years ago by Turkish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Zeugma.

After descending a set of ancient stairs from the surface, archaeologists found themselves standing at the hewn opening of the tunnel, found to be filled with hundreds of years of ancient sewage.

Archaeological excavations that have taken place at Raknehaugen, have all failed to discover evidence that would typically indicate a burial mound, such as a grave or human remains.