It has been disclosed that a resident of the northern-Negev Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj in his 50s, was caught on Sunday, looking for coins using a metal detector in the ruins of Halutza, about 20 kilometers southeast of Be'er Sheva'. Negev. Authorities seized about 150 ancient coins that he had stolen from archaeological sites as well as his vehicle.
The suspect was taken for interrogation, at the end of which, he was released on bail and under restrictive conditions. Halutza was one of the largest and most important cities in the Negev during the Byzantine period 1,500 years ago. It is illegal to use a metal detector at an archaeological site.