Gaza construction workers find 31 Roman-era tombs

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A general view shows a newly discovered Roman cemetery containing ornately decorated graves, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Construction workers at a building site in northern Gaza have uncovered 31 Roman-era tombs dating from the first century AD, the Palestinian territory's Islamist rulers Hamas said Monday.

The tombs were discovered near the town of Beit Lahia as work began on an Egyptian-funded residential area, part of the $500 million reconstruction package Cairo pledged after the 11-day war in May between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip.

Naji Sarhan, an official at Gaza's Ministry of Public Works, confirmed the find and said there is "evidence that there are other graves" at the site.

Construction work has been halted and technicians from Gaza's Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism have been sent to the site to catalogue gravestones and artefacts, officials said.

One technician, who requested anonymity, said the tombs were believed to be part of a cemetery linked to a nearby Roman site in Balakhiya.