The cave was uncovered on Tuesday when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim beach, south of Tel Aviv hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.

In a video released by the IAA, the site was shown to include dozens of pottery vessels in various forms and sizes, dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king who died in 1213 BC.

Bowls – some of them painted red, some containing bones – chalices, cooking pots, storage jars, lamps and bronze arrowheads or spearheads could be seen in the cave.

The objects were burial offerings to accompany the deceased on their last journey to the afterlife, found untouched since being placed there about 3,300 years ago.

At least one relatively intact skeleton was found in two rectangular plots in the corner of the cave.

The findings date to the reign of Rameses II, who controlled Canaan, a territory roughly encompassed modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The provenance of the pottery vessels—Cyprus, Lebanon, northern Syria, Gaza and Jaffa—is testimony to the "lively trading activity that took place along the coast," according to the IAA.

From its side, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has not commented on the discovery yet.