Palestinian resident of Beit Hanun unearths ancient graves in vegetable patch

When Abdul Karim al-Kafarnah went to check the rainwater gushing down a hole in his garden he was in for quite a shock — hidden steps led him down to an ancient grave complex. The 24-year-old lives in the Beit Hanoun district of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli border which suffered intensive bombardment during the 2014 conflict between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants. The family home was destroyed and the surrounding plots heavily churned up, leaving extensive craters in the ground. The flash-flooding earlier this week led him to one particular spot, where, on removing a large stone, he found a staircase leading four metres (13 feet) down into an ancient tomb. “I discovered the place where the water was falling in,” he told AFP. “I lifted the stone and a stale smell came out.”