Israeli police stumble upon ancient Second Temple burial cave while hunting gunmen in East Jerusalem

The violent clash had involved gunfire and Molotov cocktail attacks between feuding families. Israel Antiquities Authority experts arrived at the scene to examine the find, confirming the graves date to the Second Temple period. Security forces are now guarding the site to allow continued examination.

The Second Temple period ran from roughly 516 BC to 70 AD, when Roman forces destroyed the temple during the First Jewish-Roman War.

Police had been searching a compound where suspects in the violent family conflict were living when officers found the cave beneath a building.

Authorities also recovered additional archaeological finds alongside the burial cave inside the rock-cut tomb.