An outdoor shopping area is seen at the marina in Ashkelon, Israel, March 17, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen / File.

JNS.org – A marble sarcophagus lid dating back some 1,900 years has been rescued from a garbage dump site in southern Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority reported Monday.

In a social media post, the IAA reported that last Thursday, Yoav Mizrahi from the Antiquities Robberies Prevention Union at the IAA, with help from the Ashkelon District Police, located the artifact, which weighs some two tons. The lid belonged to a sarcophagus made of fine marble from Roman times, and inspectors are trying to track down the rest of the sarcophagus.

Authorities think that the lid was stolen from a construction site and discarded at an unauthorized dump site in Ashkelon.