Antiquities Officials Baffled by Mysterious Gold-plated Artifact Unearthed in Jerusalem

Officials at the Israel Antiquities Authority are at their wits end trying to identify a strange artifact recently unearthed in a Jerusalem cemetery, and on Tuesday requested the public\’s help in discovering the true nature of the gilded artifact.
 

Weighing in at 17.6 pounds, the gold-plated, football-shaped object is embedded with deep grooves and seems to have handles on both ends. It was discovered in an old building by the groundskeeper of a Jerusalem cemetery who, unsure of his discovery, called in the police, who in turn alerted sappers, who conducted a controlled explosion, after which the object was unearthed.

Mysterious unidentified 17.5 pound gold-plated artifact discovered at Jerusalem synagogue. December 22, 2015. Israel Antiquities Authority / Yuli Schwartz
 

Officials say they are not even certain the object is ancient. Some researchers believe there are treasures from the Jewish temples hidden throughout Jerusalem\’s western Valley of the Cross, prompting the authority to reach out to religious as well scientific experts.
 

But according to the authority, the artifact is in most likelihood modern: "It was placed inside a plastic pipe, covered in cotton and preserved with an anti-oxidant. The pipe was buried a meter and a half underground.

 

Mysterious unidentified 17.5 pound gold-plated artifact discovered at Jerusalem synagogue. December 22, 2015. Israel Antiquities Authority / Yuli Schwartz
 

"Since its discovery, Antiquities Authority officials have been trying to understand what this object is. It was sent to a lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and was discovered to be plated in nickel gold, but made from a single metal," said Amir Ganor, head of the authority\’s anti-theft unit.
 

"At first we thought it was a military object, but then began to dream. I have been in this business for along time and cannot recall such a mystery," Ganor said.