After 30 years, the mystery was solved - Herod's burial place was found

A team of archaeologists led by Prof. Ehud Netzer from the Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University found remains of Herod's tomb on the slope of Mount Herodion

Prof. Ehud Netzer explains about the discovery of Herod's tomb
In the photo: Prof. Ehud Netzer presents his findings at the press conference held today (Photo: Shashon Thiram)

A 30-year search for the burial place of Herod, King of Judah, has come to an end: Prof. Ehud Netzer from the Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University managed to locate the location of Herod's tomb, on the northeastern slope of Mount Herodion (Mount Herod) south of Jerusalem.

Excavations at Herodion began back in 1972 on behalf of the Institute of Archeology of the Hebrew University and with the assistance of the Society for the Investigation of Israel and its Antiquities. In August 2006, an excavation began on the northeastern slope of the mountain, which was directed by Prof. Netzer in collaboration with Yaakov Kalman, an archaeologist and farmer, and Roy Porat, who conducted many surveys in the caves of the Judean Desert.

Herod ben Antipater, also known as Herod the Great, is a descendant of those Reds who lived in the south of Mount Hebron and were forcibly converted by the Hasmonean Alexander Yanai. Herod, a multi-tasking ruler, a talented and cruel man, ruled over Judea with the grace of the Romans starting in 40 BC. During his time, the economy of his kingdom prospered, which allowed him to raise taxes to the Romans and multiply construction enterprises. It goes without saying that all this came on the backs of his subjects who had to pay the king both direct and indirect taxes. Among the remarkable construction projects initiated and established by Herod during his reign, the expansion of the Temple Mount, the rebuilding of the cities of Samaria and Caesarea, and of course the construction of Herod's abode and fortress - the Herodion. "The Herodion is perhaps the most amazing of the king's construction projects, and the only site where he chose to be buried and commemorate his name," explains Prof. Netzer.

Referring to the archaeological findings found in the Herodion excavations, Prof. Netzer says: "It seems that Herod's own tomb was robbed and largely dismantled as early as the first century AD, most likely, out of anger. Still, this exposure of Herod's tomb is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of recent years and therefore constitutes a high point in the archaeological research that has been going on at the site for many years.''

Access to Herod's tomb was made possible through the monumental staircase, 6.5 meters wide, which was built according to the conclusions of the renewed research especially for the funeral ceremony. The building of Herod's tomb - the mausoleum - which was discovered on the slope near the staircase, was largely dismantled, and what remains of it today is a magnificent stone plinth (a 10x10 meter square) on which the burial chamber stands.

In the ruins of the burial structure, the researchers found remains of the sarcophagus (coffin) in which the king's body was buried. The coffin, which was about 2.5 meters long, is made of pink Jerusalem stone and decorated with rosettes. This magnificent coffin was broken into pieces, apparently during the first rebellion against the Romans, between the years 66 and 72 AD.

According to Prof. Netzer: "The abundance of unusual architectural items found at the excavation site hint at the quality of the burial structure, which was at least partially circular. Among the archaeological items found at the burial site should be noted the magnificent 'urns' (urns intended for storing ashes after the cremation of the body), which stood, one must assume, at the top of the monument. The 'Ornots' are known from ancient rock-hewn tombs and found in Petra. The stone work in the structure of Herod's tomb, which was brought from afar, is amazing in its beauty and delicacy and is different from anything found to this day in Herodion.''

Prof. Ehud Netzer began his work at the Lower Herodion in 1972. In light of the discovery of an unusual building on the grounds of the Herodion that was specifically intended to be used for the king's funeral, Netzer began searching for Herod's tomb. In 2006, when it became clear that the tomb itself is not in the area of ​​what Netzer calls the "tomb estate", it was decided to move the center of gravity of the research to the mountain slope. According to Prof. Netzer: "We believe today that Herod initially intended to be buried at the foot of the mountain, in the tomb compound, and only when he got older, changed his mind and decided to be buried on top of the mountain."

During his years as an architect and archaeologist, Prof. Netzer uncovered buildings built by Herod during his reign at several archaeological sites located in the Jericho Valley and its surroundings, in Jerusalem, Caesarea and Banias. He also made an important contribution to the study of the architecture of the temples built by Herod in Jerusalem, Samaria and Caesarea. Alongside this, it is clear that the discovery of Herod's burial place on the slope of Mount Herodion is his most impressive discovery so far.

Herodion site

The Rodion site, which contains a unique archaeological relic in the entire Roman world. According to Prof. Netzer: "The fact that the days of Herod's reign are close to the birth of Jesus holds great interest in the Christian world, and makes the unveiling of Herod's tomb of special significance." Mount Herodion has been held by the Nature and Parks Authority since 1969, but according to a proposal put forward by Prof. Netzer, the lower Herodion was also added to the national park and the process of turning it into a huge antiquities garden was started - work that was stopped in 1987. However, as Prof. Netzer points out: "There is no doubt that solving the riddle of the tomb, along with adapting its immediate surroundings to tourist visits, will lead to an increase in the number of visitors to the National Park. The task is currently assigned to the Nature and Parks Authority which, in cooperation with the Gush Etzion local council, will surely take care of this.''

Comments

  1. To Dr. Lerner
    With all due respect to your unknown ostracon, Josephus wrote clearly in his 2 important books, that Herod was buried in a magnificent burial in the Herodion.
    Lachnan Levinsky
    Herod was appointed king of Judah by Rome in 40 BC and became de facto king in 37 BC.
    He destroyed the Second Temple (which, by the way, was built before Ezra and Nehemiah), in order to build a much more magnificent building in its place. And it is said in the Talmud that whoever did not see Herod's building, did not see a beautiful building from his time.
    The last sentence obviously contradicts everything you wrote before it, but you must not be able to understand it.

  2. Dear Friends

    I am sorry to disappoint and spoil to some extent the archaeological and media party surrounding the whereabouts of Prof. Ehud Netzer, but without an inscription and without any solid association, one should not go out and shout that this is indeed his tomb, or at least the remains of the sarcophagus (perhaps) of Herod, or one of his family members, or Who are the members of the oligarchy at that time?
    Of course, one must wait patiently for the continuation of the excavation seasons in the area, on the side of the mountain in question, and in the meantime, the object of Prof. Netzer's excavation must be regarded as questionable.
    At the time, Prof. Yigal Yedin caused a huge media storm when he published about Masada's findings, which were found, and he did not even disclaim this in the form of: "Probability may guide us...", regarding the fighters of the rebellion. And what happened? that the skulls in question were actually the remains of Byzantine monks who settled there hundreds of years after the revolt.
    This was also the fate of the complex burial site in Beit Shaarim, when they searched, and in vain, for the grave of Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi.

  3. There is no sarcophagus in the Herodion - it's just fragments of jars and stone jars

  4. How do you attribute a political dimension to every discovery here? Oh this is annoying!!!! And then more people ask me why I prefer to bother, and research the early bronze age and the holocaust period....? In any case, Herod was half Red and half Egyptian, his father Antipater was quite a cunning politician.... Herod used wisdom with his good connections with the central government in Rome and brought talented engineers and builders from there. One of the things he built that I like the most is the port in Caesarea where he used divers to lower a kind of concrete boxes (a Roman invention by the way) and to make a floor for the port of Caesarea which was certainly impressive. The tiered palace he built (well, he didn't exactly build it, he just brought the teaching and the money) in Masada is certainly impressive... Currently, I do not hear from researchers in the Herodian field that they doubt the find for a simple reason. There is no reason for this. There is no heated debate in research regarding the burial and its meaning. The idea of ​​burial in the Herodian appears in Josephus, and the sarcophagus that was found is definitely impressive of pink stone...

  5. Herod ben Antipater, also known as Herod, is a descendant of those Reds who lived in the south of Mount Hebron and were forcibly converted by the Hasmonean Alexander Yanai. Herod, a mad ruler, a sick, bloodthirsty man, took over Judea with the grace of the Romans starting in 33 BC. During his time, the economy of his kingdom prospered, which allowed him to raise taxes to the Romans and multiply construction enterprises. It goes without saying that all this came on the backs of his subjects who had to pay the king both direct and indirect taxes. Among the construction projects initiated and established by Herod during his reign, the destruction of the Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the cities of Samaria and Caesarea, and of course the construction of the Herodion should be noted.
    For the settlers of Jonathan's type, he is a hero from whom they learned how to treat the Nakba Arabs who are the only legitimate inhabitants of Palestine.

  6. To Jonathan the fool: Herod the Redeemer and murderer of the Hasmonean house
    (including his wife and sons) was buried in Hebron!

    In the ostracon found by me in 1985 there was
    The address:

    F N..N Har.S M.Ka Dish..L!!!!!!
    This pottery was stored in the basements of the Rockefeller Museum

  7. I heard that they found a shattered coffin (sarcophagus) without any evidence that it is Herod's tomb, why is there no publication of the findings?

  8. Has an inscription or other proof been found that the Ark is Herod's and not someone else's?

  9. This is a day of mourning for Dr. Yachiam Sorek and his friends.

    I learned, from knowledgeable sources in the history faculty at the kibbutz seminary, (known as Princeton University's most serious competitor), that he and his friends lowered the red underpants to half-mast.
    Oh oh oh no matter what happens, they may still mistakenly think that there were Jews here two thousand years ago and not Palestinians, as the seminar researchers have already established. This fascism will not pass.

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