This Israeli thief returns stolen ancient artifact amid fear of coronavirus apocalypse

A man who stole a catapult stone from the City of David returned it to the authorities after being scared of the ongoing pandemic which has led the man to believe in the apocalypse

By Parvathy Rajagopal
March 18, 2020 19:55 +08

Italy Flash Mob

A thief who stole a catapult stone from the city of David has returned the artifact to the authorities after 15 years.

According to the national media in Israel, the man returned the artifact after his conscience started to believe that the end of the world is near. In a press conference, the Israel Antiquities Authority said that the guilt-ridden man used another person to confess to the crime.

The unidentified man used a man called Moshe Manies to deliver the artifact to the authorities. The man was quoted by the local media as saying, "The time has come to clear my conscience. It feels that the end of the world is near."

The bowling ball-sized projectile was delivered to the Antiquities Authority in Israel Manies.

Moshe Manies' facebook post about the stone — Moshe Manies' Facebook post about the stone which had the caption: Uzi from the antique authority on the way to us... Came to me from the blystrʼh that was apparently stolen from the antiquities authority on the city of David's site in Jerusalem. According to the well-known, he was featured as the Romans used during the destruction of a second house, in 70 A.D. I committed to the one who gave it to me, (" you are connected and know what to do with it "- said) that I will return it and not say its name - according to it: " his friend found her in the city of David..." In Short, what do I do with it? And how does it help us with koruna? Facebook/ Moshe Manies

Facebook post by Manies

Moshe Manies who kept the man's identity a secret had posted about the stone on Facebook. He requested his circle of friends on advice about what to do with the stone. According to Manies, two young people stole the stone. The Israeli media said that the youths saw a collection of ballista stones that had been launched at fortifications.

Maines post on his Facebook said that one of the youths took a stone while leaving the site. This attracted the attention of the authorities. The man has continued to raise a family but according to Maines, he has constantly felt the weight of the stone in his conscience for the past 15 years.

While cleaning for a passover, the man noticed the stone and along with the present feeling brought on by the Covid-19, he felt it was the right time to return the artifact. He then asked Manies to return the artifact for him. Uzi Rotstein, an inspector from IAA's theft Prevention Unit tagged on the post, commended the return of the artifact.

According to Dr. Yuval Baruch of the Antiquities Authority's Jerusalem region, the stones which were uncovered in the city of David could be most likely be connected to "harsh battles between the besieged residents of Jerusalem and the soldiers of the Roman Legion, from around 70 CE", the year when Jerusalem was destroyed.