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Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem Displays Smuggled Antiquities
(Times of Israel) Amanda Borschel-Dan - For decades, 40,000 stolen ancient artifacts confiscated from smugglers and looters in the West Bank were stockpiled in the offices of the Antiquities Department of the Israeli Civil Administration. In 2010, the new Staff Officer of Archaeology of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, Hananya Hezmi, began sorting, dating, registering, and documenting the artifacts. In the process, he stumbled upon some rare items. The recently published first of four volumes, called Finds Gone Astray: ADCA Confiscated Items, catalogues 134 examples of the more unique items. The Civil Administration has loaned a collection of items for display in an exhibit which opens on Dec. 31 at the Jerusalem-based Bible Lands Museum.