(Photo By: Oscar Becherno/Israel Antiquities Authority)
By: Rosella Tercatin - January 25, 2021
Located in the heart of the city, Sacher Park is one of Jerusalemites’ most beloved locations, offering them the opportunity to stroll, jog, barbecue and play. However, a different kind of experience was awaiting the archaeologists working on a salvage excavation during renovations in the area: an encounter with a British hand grenade dating back to World War I.
The grenade was uncovered in an ancient cistern by Oscar Becherno, director of the archaeological excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“This is a Mills 23 hand grenade, which was used by the British army in World War I,” said Assaf Peretz, an IAA weapons expert. “It seems that the grenade had already been found in the past and was thrown by a passerby into a cistern to bury it and remove the danger from the area.”
Read More: Jerusalem Post