Archaeologists have uncovered the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered, following 30 years of exploration and digging outside the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

But their quest to learn about an ancient people encountered a uniquely Israeli problem. The cemetery was actually located in 2013, but the archaeologists kept their discovery secret for three years until all excavation was complete for fear of their work being disrupted by ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The ultra-Orthodox are against disturbing ancient corpses in case any of the dead happen to be Jewish, in which case exhumation might jeopardise their chances of resurrection.