Israeli soldiers accidentally discover a Byzantine monastery while exercising

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Israel Army soldiers have contributed to the discovery of a Byzantine convent more than 1,500 years old while conducting a military exercise near the central Israeli town of Shoham, the Israel Antiquities Authority has detailed on Monday and reported by ‘Haaretz’.

A military training would have hit near the convent, leaving part of it uncovered, which has encouraged archaeologists to begin research work on the building.

Sections of the convent, called Horbat Hani or Buri el Hanaya, had already been discovered in 2022, although it was subsequently covered with earth for the protection of the archaeological site.

On this occasion, two buildings were unearthed, one of which was a church with a mosaic floor, a vestibule, a dormitory and a subway cemetery, Ynet News portal reported. Also, the other building included a kitchen, a dining room and accommodation for pilgrims.

Parts of the convent were accidentally damaged during the military exercise, which finally led archaeologists to resume their work at this site, 20 years later.

Israeli experts have assured that the discovered structure was an ancient monastery, as the skeletons of several women, assumed to have belonged to nuns, were discovered at the site.