Antique Turkish grenade found in Jerusalem walls

Israeli archaeologists renovating the walls of Jerusalem's Old City found an explosive surprise -- a 100-year-old Ottoman hand grenade hidden in a crevice.

The device, which contained more than 200 grams (seven ounces) of explosives, was discovered earlier this week as archaeologists were replacing a damaged stone near the Damascus Gate, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

"The stone was partially crushed and someone probably chose it as a place to hide the hand grenade," said Yoram Saad, a senior official at the authority.

The Ottomans, who ruled the Holy Land until 1917, built the massive fortified walls that currently ring the Old City.

"In view of its metallic shape and its strange location, police sappers were summoned to the site, and after examining it they confirmed that this was indeed a grenade dating to the Ottoman period and that it contained 200-300 grams of explosives," the statement said.

"The sappers removed the grenade and carried out a controlled detonation," it said.