The popular Sorek (Avshalom) Cave near Jerusalem is thought to be much smaller than the newly discovered cave complex in Tzofim. (Shutterstock)
A rare and beautiful cave complex of stalagmites and stalactites, that is thought to be one million years old, has been discovered near the village community of Tzofim, northeast of Kfar Saba.
The cave was found accidentally during road works, reported the YediotAharonoth newspaper.
“It’s a breathtaking sight,” Irit Lederberg, a Tzofim resident who was one of the first to enter the cave, told the Hebrew daily. “We’ve been living here for 24 years and didn’t know we had such a gem under our noses. We descended into the cave a few meters and were totally awestruck by what we saw.”
Prof. Amos Frumkin, director of the Cave Research Unit at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s geography department, called for an immediate halt to the construction work while relevant parties examine the finds and check safety. Frumkin said the cave likely dated back at least one million years but said further study would be required at the site to give an exact date.
By Viva Sarah Press Israel21c
