![]() Entrance to Herod's Family Tomb. Notice "rolling stone". | |
Location | Near Old City of Jerusalem |
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Coordinates | 31°46′26.4″N35°13′26.6″E / 31.774000°N 35.224056°E |
History | |
Builder | Herod the Great |
Material | Stone, Herodian-type ashlars |
Founded | 1st century BCE |
Site notes | |
Condition | Preserved |
Public access | Yes |
Herod's family tomb, with or without upper-case initials, can refer to several sites identified at different times as the burial structures of the immediate relatives of Herod the Great, one of them probably being the famed king's own tomb.
The name "Herod's Family Tomb" has long been used for a 1st-century BCE rock-cut funerary complex of excellent workmanship located near King David Hotel in Jerusalem. [1] The cruciform, 5-chamber tomb is built of perfectly cut and joined Herodian-type ashlars and was found to still contain two in situ decorated sarcophagi, all dated to the first century BCE. [1]
A round funerary complex discovered near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem has also been considered as the burial tower of Herod's relatives. [1] It is known as the opus reticulatum monument, and is mentioned twice by Josephus (War 5.108, 507), as "Herod's monuments" and as "Herod's monument", respectively. [2]
The 2007 discovery by Ehud Netzer of the remains of an elaborate mausoleum at the Herodium fortress and administrative centre, along with the remains of three finely worked stone sarcophagi, has convinced most specialists that Herod's own tomb has been finally discovered, along with those of two close relatives. [3]
Herod I or Herod the Great was a Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base—the Western Wall being part of it. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.
The use of rock-cut cave tombs in the region began in the early Canaanite period, from 3100–2900 BCE. The custom lapsed a millennium, however, before re-emerging in the earliest Israelite tombs, dating to the 9th century BCE in Jerusalem. The use of rock-cut tombs reached its peak in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, before rapidly declining and eventually falling out of use in the 6th century BCE in some regions. It reappeared during the Second Temple period and continued into the Late Roman and Byzantine periods.
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