JERUSALEM (AP) — Four Roman-era swords, their wooden and leather hilts and scabbards and steel blades exquisitely preserved after 1,900 years in a desert cave, surfaced in a recent excavation by Israeli archaeologists near the Dead Sea, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. The cache of exceptionally intact artifacts was found about two months ago and tells a story of empire and rebellion, of long-distance conquest and local insurrection. The swords were dated based on their typology, and have not yet undergone radiocarbon dating. Political Cartoons View All 1145 ImagesThe cool, arid and stable climate of the desert caves has allowed exceptional preservation of organic remains, including hundreds of ancient parchment fragments known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Archaeologists returned to this particular cave near the desert oasis of Ein Gedi to document an inscription found decades earlier.

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Persons: Gedi, ”, Asaf Gayer, Guy Stiebel, —, “ Organizations: JERUSALEM, Israel Antiquities Authority, Survey, Scrolls, Ariel University, Tel, Tel Aviv University, Jewish Locations: Israel, Roman, Judaea, Tel Aviv, “