The 2,000-year-old cemetery is located near the ruins of the Greek port city of Anthedon, now in the northern Gaza Strip (Mohammed Abed / AFP)

Dozens of Roman-era tombs have been unearthed by researchers in the northern Gaza Strip at a site discovered earlier this year during construction work, the Palestinian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism in Gaza announced Monday.

As work started in early 2022 on an Egyptian-funded residential project, construction workers had uncovered 31 tombs near the town of Beit Lahia, part of reconstruction efforts after the 11-day war that broke out in May 2021 between the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and the Israeli military, during which 250 Palestinians were martyred by the Israeli occupation.

أعلنت وزارة الآثار والسياحة في قطاع #غزة الإثنين أنه تم اكتشاف عشرات القبور في مقبرة رومانية تعود إلى نحو ألفي عام قرب مخيم الشاطئ بشمال غرب مدينة غزة.https://t.co/T3v3zX8l0t #فرانس_برس
📸 @mohmdabed pic.twitter.com/Ex8Xn08Lot
— فرانس برس بالعربية (@AFPar) December 12, 2022

Following the discovery, the project has been partially suspended, and a team from the local antiquities ministry visited the location to make a catalog of the discoveries and look for more, Fazl al-Atal, head of the excavation team, told AFP on Monday.

"So far, 51 Roman tombs dating from the first century AD have been found," including the 31 initially found by the construction workers, he said, adding that they expect "to find 75 to 80 tombs in total."

Al-Atal hailed the discovery of the "first complete Roman-era cemetery found in Gaza".

The 2,000-year-old burial site is situated near the Greek port of Anthedon's ruins, on the road that leads to ancient Askalan.

The antiquity ministry team has been focusing on "documentation, research, and protection of the site," Al-Atal said, noting that their goal is "to ascertain... the causes of death."

The site is "of great importance and believed to be an extension of the site" of ancient Anthedon, Jamal Abu Reda, who is in charge of antiquities at the ministry, said.

Why does it matter?

In Gaza, both research and tourism to archaeological sites are limited due to the imposed Israeli blockade.

In September, researchers in Gaza discovered Byzantine mosaics dating from the 5th to 7th centuries, and in April, they found a 4,500-year-old stone statuette depicting the face of an ancient goddess.

The Gaza Strip, which has for a long time been blockaded by "Israel", is rich with antiquities, as it was an important trading spot for a number of civilizations dating as far back as the ancient Egyptians, through the Roman empire.

The 2,000-year-old cemetery has been first uncovered in February, and samples of the ruins discovered there include the remains of a siege laid by Alexander the Great and a Mongol invasion.

The shape of the graves and their ornate decorations reveal that they belonged to "senior ranking people" in the Roman empire during the first century, said Jamal Abu Rida, director-general of Gaza's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.