Tomb Of King Herod Discovered At Herodium
Tomb Of King Herod Discovered At Herodium
His tomb for thousands of years has been a mystery but in 2007 archaeologists claimed that they had discovered Herod the Great’s tomb.
But the experts do not think now that the tomb of the Biblical rule is the surprisingly modest mausoleum that has been discovered , therefore the search is on again to find the king of Judea’s real resting place.
The tomb was thought to be of Herod who ruled just before Jesus ‘ birth, discovered in Herodium, which is an enormous complex built under the king ‘s rule on a circular hill in the desert near Jerusalem.
While there was much excitement at the time that the tomb had finally been found, archaeologists now believe that it is too small for a ruler known for his decadence and love of ambitious, large scale architectural projects.
King Herod, who lived from 74 BC to 4 BC built a number of lavish building projects including the fortress of Masada, but he did so by burdening his people with heavy taxes.
It was Jewish historian Flavius Josephus who suggested that the ruler was buried in his own creation of Herodium.
Joseph Patrich, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told The Huffington Post that Josephus described the body laid out on a gold bed with luxurious fabrics and carried to its final resting place accompanied by a procession made up of subjects and the entire army.
Archaeologist Ehud Netzer proclaimed that he had found Herod’s tomb in 2007 – a building measuring 10 x 10 metres with a pointed roof – that contained three coffins.
It was thought that a coffin of carved red stone was that of the famous ruler, but Dr Patrich and his colleague Benjamin Arubas, who also works at the university, are convinced that the coffin does not belong to Herod.
They came to this conclusion because the building is smaller than other royal tombs of the time and only has one pyramid.
The tombs of the Hasmoneans – the royal dynasty proceeding Herod – had seven pyramids.
Dr Patrich said: ‘There is hardly space for 20 people to stand conveniently and there is no respectable gateway to lead in.’
The archaeologists said the building has an awkward layout with two staircases above the tomb and is not symmetrically aligned with the rest of the complex, which would have been a design faux pas not fit for a king.
The duo also believe that the ruler, known for his expensive taste, would not have settled for a coffin made of local stones, leading experts to question where the real location of Herod’s tomb is and to whom the trio of coffins in Herodium belongs.
Dr Patrich said that the people buried in the tomb could have been ‘very dear’ to Herod and might even have been close family members.
He said that while Herod’s tomb has not been found, there is much more of Herodium that has not yet been excavated.