JERUSALEM, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli archaeologists have discovered 2,000-year-old handprints on the sides of an ancient Roman cistern, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Thursday.
The handprints were discovered during preservation works at the Hippos archeological site, in the annexed Golan Heights, about two km east of the Sea of Galilee in northeastern Israel.
The ancient city of Hippos, founded in the 2nd century BC by the Seleucid Empire, was conquered by the Romans in 63 BC.
During the recent preservation work for the cistern located in the central area of the Roman city, IAA experts discovered remains and marks left behind by the pit builders, including several handprints on the walls' lime mortar layers.
The size of the imprints and laboratory tests showed that the builders were men, women and even children, according to the IAA. ■
