A dumpster-diver climbed to the top of an ancient mound in the Tylos-era archaeological site in Hajar to burn a car accessory, then tried to attack policemen who tried to stop him, a court heard.
In July, the High Criminal Court sentenced the 49-year-old Bahraini to two years in prison, a verdict which has been upheld by the High Criminal Appeals Court.
The man, who according to case files had a troubled past and long criminal record, reportedly brandished a box cutter against officers who came to the scene after receiving reports about a fire.
He was convicted of starting the fire, creating a danger to others’ lives and property, carrying weapons, publicly insulting and using violence against Interior Ministry employees.
He earlier told the Public Prosecution that he was searching around Hajar for discarded items that he could sell for a profit, at 3am on the day of the April incident.
“I went on top of a tell (mound) in the Tylos site, and I used my lighter to set fire to my car’s polyester sunshade. There was a small fire, and I sat next to it until it went out,” he recounted.
“I went inside the village, looking for more scrap materials, when policemen asked me to come with them into the patrol car, but I refused to since I didn’t do anything wrong.
“I was sober and in a normal state of consciousness, and the fire was so tiny that it was extinguished on its own and didn’t pose any sort of danger to anyone.”
A policeman testified that he and his partner were despatched to respond to a fire incident in Hajar and were led to the appellant’s house by a witness.
“We asked him to come with us and he began screaming vulgarities at us, calling us thieves and so on,” the officer said.
“He pointed a box cutter at us so we had to use necessary force to subdue him and deployed pepper spray. He kept pushing us away and caused mild bruising.”
The Dilmun and Tylos Cemeteries in Hajar are located on Budaiya Highway, and are protected as part of a big, multi-era archaeological site, which ranges from 4,000 to 1,700 years ago (2000 BCE to 300 CE). The site contains still-unexcavated burial mounds from the Hellenistic period, when Bahrain was called Tylos.
The Hajar necropolis is well-known for its rock-cut graves, a number of underground burials, some are still covered with flat capstones.
Numerous artefacts were unearthed from the site, like complex pottery pieces, fine glass vessels, iron weapons, stamp and cylinder seals, jewellery and two limestone statues.
&uuid=(email))