Israeli Archeologists Uncork Liquor Bottles Abandoned by British WWI Troops

JERUSALEM (AP) — In a search for antiquities, Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a far more modern find — century-old liquor bottles that belonged to British soldiers in World War I.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday it was excavating 250,000-year-old flint tools when the archaeologists stumbled upon hundreds of liquor bottles near a building where British soldiers were garrisoned in 1917.

Excavation director Ron Toueg says uniform buttons, belt buckles and riding equipment were found near the city of Ramle in addition to the bottles of gin, whiskey and wine. He said it offered a glimpse into “the everyday life and leisure of the soldiers.”

The items appear to have belonged to members of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force commanded by General Edmund Allenby.