JERUSALEM AP Archeology one of Israel's biggest tourist attractions suffered a blow Tuesday when most of its excavations were shut down. The Israel Antiquities Authority halted its salvage digs carried out ahead of most construction projects after the Supreme Court ruled that developers and builders cannot be billed for these excavations. In the country of Jesus and King Solomon Richard the Lion Heart and Saladin it is almost impossible to start a building or a road without uncovering ancient remains. In response to a petition from a developer however the Supreme Court ruled Sunday that the government not the builder must bear the costs of the salvage digs operated by the Antiquities Authority. In response the Antiquities Authority decided Tuesday to halt all salvage digs which account for about 300 of the 350 excavations carried out in Israel each year. ``We have no budget for salvage digs'' said Antiquities Authority spokeswoman Osnat Gouez. Major digs open to the public like those in Jerusalem Caesarea and Beit Shean have been drastically curtailed for lack of government funding Gouez said. In the archeological sense Israel is the one of the most crowded countries in the world with some 25000 known sites excavated or waiting to be dug up. APW19981201.0044.txt.body.html APW19981201.0138.txt.body.html