Which country's most famous archaeological discovery was made less than a year before the country officially came into existence?

MaggieG 5

The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Israel in 1947. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_scrolls Mar 24 05, 12:47 AM

gmackematix

Yay Maggie! Good timing on the part of the shepherd boy I suppose. Mar 24 05, 1:35 AM

Arpeggionist

I wouldn't say the scrolls are our most famous archeological discovery. Certainly they are not the most important. Archeology has focused on this land for centuries, since Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent discovered the Western Wall under many layers of refuse. (Legend has it he asked a woman who was throwing away her trash why she was throwing it there, and she said she was descended from Titus, who burned the Temple to the ground). In the 19th century a lot of discoveries were made in more Christian sites. And after the state of Israel was established a wave of archeological research began that still hasn't died out. Among the things discovered around the Qumran area, besides the scrolls, were the bodies of Jews who had rebelled against the Romans and hid out in the surrounding caves until they starved to death. Ben Gurion realized that these were probably the last people fighting for a free Jewish state in 2,000 years, and instead of putting them on display he gave them proper military funerals. They rest today in a section of their own on Mt. Herzl, the military cemetary in Jerusalem. Mar 24 05, 3:58 AM

gmackematix

Still, I bet more people have heard of the discovery of the scrolls, hence the most famous discovery. I stand by my question. Mar 24 05, 12:31 PM

MaggieG 5

And do you know it was what I thought of first when I saw the question so I second what you stand by. Mar 24 05, 12:44 PM

Arpeggionist

More people know about the scrolls than the Wall? Mar 24 05, 2:21 PM

MaggieG 5

As a discovery. As far as I know the wall has always been there. Now I know you just told me it had been covered for years but I didn't know that and I suspect most people are the same. But the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has always been thought of great importance and relevance, and hence is very well known. Mar 24 05, 2:42 PM