In the U.S., routine traffic stops occasionally lead to drug busts or the discovery of counterfeit merchandise. In Israel, they can lead police to Roman artifacts plundered by 2nd-century Jewish rebels. Sharon Wrobel reports:

The archaeological finds were discovered last week in the trunk of a vehicle stopped by police in Jerusalem’s Musrara neighborhood after driving in the wrong direction up a one-way street. Experts at the Israel Antiquities Authority believe that the items were looted from a hidden complex in the Judean foothills that served as a refuge during the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132-136 CE.

Among the discoveries were two ornate, 2,000-year-old bronze censers used to burn ritual incense, which likely belonged to affluent Roman houses and temples. A bronze jug with a depiction of a Roman banqueting scene showing a reclining figure holding a jug of wine was also recovered. Other illicit finds include an ornate stone tripod bowl, Roman clay lamps, and hundreds of coins dating from the late Roman period.

Bronze artifacts are relatively rare finds in Israel as the metal was an expensive commodity, often melted down for reuse. Ancient bronze recoveries are usually discovered at archaeological sites where they were deliberately hidden, or in hiding complexes used after battle during the Bar Kokhba revolt, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Early Friday morning, Israel attacked military installations near the Iranian cities of Isfahan and nearby Natanz, the latter being one of the hubs of the country’s nuclear program. Jerusalem is not taking credit for the attack, and none of the details are too certain, but it seems that the attack involved multiple drones, likely launched from within Iran, as well as one or more missiles fired from Syrian or Iraqi airspace. Strikes on Syrian radar systems shortly beforehand probably helped make the attack possible, and there were reportedly strikes on Iraq as well.

Iran itself is downplaying the attack, but the S-300 air-defense batteries in Isfahan appear to have been destroyed or damaged. This is a sophisticated Russian-made system positioned to protect the Natanz nuclear installation. In other words, Israel has demonstrated that Iran’s best technology can’t protect the country’s skies from the IDF. As Yossi Kuperwasser puts it, the attack, combined with the response to the assault on April 13,

clarified to the Iranians that whereas we [Israelis] are not as vulnerable as they thought, they are more vulnerable than they thought. They have difficulty hitting us, but we have no difficulty hitting them.

Nobody knows exactly how the operation was carried out. . . . It is good that a question mark hovers over . . . what exactly Israel did. Let’s keep them wondering. It is good for deniability and good for keeping the enemy uncertain.

The fact that we chose targets that were in the vicinity of a major nuclear facility but were linked to the Iranian missile and air forces was a good message. It communicated that we can reach other targets as well but, as we don’t want escalation, we chose targets nearby that were involved in the attack against Israel. I think it sends the message that if we want to, we can send a stronger message. Israel is not seeking escalation at the moment.