Police operation takes unexpected turn when officers stumble upon ancient burial cave

Israeli police recently stumbled on an ancient burial cave in an unlikely place while carrying out an operation in Jerusalem.

The discovery was announced by the Israel Police, Israel’s civilian law enforcement agency, on Aug. 24.

While carrying out an operation related to what police described as a “violent family conflict” in Silwan, a village in East Jerusalem, officers came upon the cave.

The Second Temple period lasted from roughly 516 B.C. to 70 A.D., when Roman forces destroyed the temple during the First Jewish-Roman War.

Pictures released by Israeli police show the dark interior of the rock-cut burial cave, with debris scattered across the floor.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Israel Police and the Israel Antiquities Authority for additional comment.

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Jerusalem has been inhabited for thousands of years, and remnants of its ancient past are still emerging today.

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The cave is one of several archaeological finds recently uncovered in the Holy City.

Earlier this summer, officials announced the discovery of charred wooden beams in Jerusalem dating back roughly 2,600 years — likely remnants of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple.

Another major find came last year, when archaeologists uncovered the longest and best-preserved section of Jerusalem’s Hasmonean-era wall found to date.