place

Tomb of Benei Hezir

Archaeological sites in JerusalemJewish mausoleumsMount of OlivesRock-cut tombsTombs in the State of Palestine
Hezir tomb
Hezir tomb

The Tomb of Benei Hezir (Hebrew: קבר בני חזיר), previously known as the Tomb of Saint James, is the oldest of four monumental rock-cut tombs that stand in the Kidron Valley, adjacent to the Tomb of Zechariah and a few meters from the Tomb of Absalom. It dates to the period of the Second Temple. It is a complex of burial caves. The tomb was originally accessed from a single rock-cut stairwell which descends to the tomb from the north. At a later period an additional entrance was created by quarrying a tunnel from the courtyard of the monument known as "the Tomb of Zechariah". This is also the contemporary entrance to the burial complex.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Tomb of Benei Hezir (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Tomb of Benei Hezir
scări, Jerusalem Ras al-Amud

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Tomb of Benei HezirContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 31.776447222222 ° E 35.239130555556 °
placeShow on map

Address

קבר זכריה

scări
9114001 Jerusalem, Ras al-Amud
Jerusalem District, Israel
mapOpen on Google Maps

Hezir tomb
Hezir tomb
Share experience

Nearby Places

Monolith of Silwan
Monolith of Silwan

The Monolith of Silwan, also known as the Tomb of Pharaoh's Daughter, is a cuboid rock-cut tomb located in Silwan, Jerusalem dating from the period of the Kingdom of Judah; the latter name refers to a 19th-century hypothesis that the tomb was built by Solomon for his wife, the Pharaoh's daughter. The structure, a typical Israelite rock-cut tomb, was previously capped by a pyramid structure like the Tomb of Zechariah. It is one of the more complete and distinctive First Temple-period structures. The pyramidal rock cap was cut into pieces and removed for quarry during the Roman era, leaving a flat roof. The tomb contains a single stone bench, indicating that it was designed for only one burial. Recent research indicates that the bench was the base of a sarcophagus hewn into the original building.The Pharaoh's daughter tradition was first suggested by Louis Félicien de Saulcy, who noted that the bible claims that Solomon built a temple for his Egyptian wife; de Saulcy, excavating the site in the 19th century, suggested that this might be the same building. However, subsequent archaeological investigation has dated the site to the 9th-7th century BC, making the connection to Solomon impossible. Two letters of a single-line Phoenician or Hebrew inscription survive on the building, the remainder of the inscription having been mutilated beyond recognition, by a hermit in the Byzantine era; Byzantine monks increased the height of the low entrance by removing rock which contained the inscription in order to ease access to the tomb, in which they resided. The tomb was cleaned following the 1967 Six-Day War. Neglected since Ussishkin's survey, trash disposal has resulted in an unkempt, unattractive appearance (as of 2013).