Roman tombs found in south Lebanon cave

TYRE, Lebanon (AFP) - Japanese archaeologists discovered a cave containing frescoed Roman tombs in southern Lebanon's ancient coastal city of Tyre on Monday, an official overseeing the excavation said.

The three-metre by 12-metre (10-foot by 39-foot) cave contains six tombs from a Roman family, archaeologist Nader Siqlawi of the Directorate General of Antiquities told AFP.

"The walls at the entrance are decorated with frescoes of plants, animals and colorful birds, and parts of the floor are covered in mosaic," Siqlawi said.

Seven Japanese archaeologists from the Nara University Department of Preservation of Cultural Properties discovered the tombs in the rocky town of Burj al-Shemali on Tyre's eastern outskirts on Monday morning.

At the Beirut government's request, the Japanese university deployed teams of archaeologists and students to Tyre in 2008 to work in coordination with the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities.

Like many coastal cities across Lebanon, Tyre, 85 kilometres (53 miles) south of Beirut, contains relics dating back to the Phoenician and Roman eras.