07 July 2010

Antique Hand Grenade Discovered In Jerusalem Wall

Conservation workers found a live hand grenade from the Ottoman-era in one of Jerusalem's historic stone walls. The Ottoman Empire controlled Jerusalem for 400 years before its capture by the British in 1917.
A 100-year-old Turkish hand grenade was recently discovered during conservation work being conducted near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday.

A conservation team from the authority, under the direction of conservator Fuad Abu Taa, on Monday was dismantling fragments of crushed stone that needed to be replaced in the city wall, when they found a fist-size chunk of metal in the wall's core.

The conservationists called police sappers to the scene, thinking the object was suspicious due to its location and metallic shape. After examining it, experts confirmed it was a grenade dating to the Ottoman period and that it contained c. 200-300 grams of explosives. The sappers removed the grenade and carried out a controlled detonation.

“The stone was partially crushed and someone probably chose it as a place to hide the hand grenade," said Yoram Saad of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

By: Shelldrake

No comments: