A few days ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced that they intercepted a large shipment of ancient coins being mailed out of the country by a couple of licensed antiquities dealers. More than 5,000 coins from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods were recovered.
I was at a site in the West Bank a couple of weeks ago that was covered with holes from illegal excavations. Looting is a lucrative business; some coins are worth more than a year’s salary.
Tekoa, hometown of prophet Amos, with evidence of illegal excavation
