Archeologists Admit Tomb Misidentified

JERUSALEM — Archeologists said Wednesday that they misidentified a tomb recently uncovered in central Israel as that of the Maccabees, Jewish rebels who inspired the Hanukkah holiday.

In a terse statement, the Israel Antiquities Authority said a laboratory analysis showed archeologists had misread an ancient Hebrew inscription on the tomb.

Discovery of the burial site, during road-widening work, touched off protests by ultra-Orthodox Jews who charged the archeologists were defiling Jewish graves.

The statement did not say whether archeologists still believed that the tomb contained the remains of Jews. A spokesman for the agency was not immediately available.