The Gaza Strip’s historic status as a go-between of empire and civilisation is one that dates back tens of thousands of years. Witnessing the rise and fall of the Pharaonic, Greek Canaanite, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic civilisations, the region has long been a trove of archaeological wonders, storing the secrets of times gone by. There are at least 45 archaeological sites in Gaza, including mosques, churches, palaces, tombs and markets that date back to the Stone Age and beyond, each of which houses stocks of precious artefacts, stones and gems. Note, this figure fails to account for the hun…