Hidden Byzantine Tombs Found Beneath Houses in Syria

MAARAT AL-NUMAN, SYRIA—Construction workers clearing rubble from destroyed houses in Maarat al-Numan revealed the entrance to a mysterious subterranean tunnel. AP News reports that archaeologists from the Idlib Directorate of Antiquities were called to the area to investigate and discovered a hidden 1,500-year-old burial complex. The site contained two chambers, each featuring six rock-cut tombs. A cross was carved into the top of one of the columns that separated the graves. “Based on the presence of the cross and the pottery and glass pieces that were found, this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era,” said Hassan al-Ismail, director of antiquities in Idlib. The region of Idlib in northwest Syria, which was strategically located on the route between Damascus and Aleppo, is known for its plethora of archaeological monuments, especially its co-called Dead Cities, a cluster of Byzantine-era settlements that were abandoned around the eighth century. To read about a rare burial of a nun uncovered in a Byzantine monastery north of Jerusalem, go to "Bound for Heaven."