Herod’s Tomb

In 2007, after many years of searching, the remains of a mausoleum (burial monument) identified by the excavators as the Herod’s grave, were uncovered on the slope of the Herodium hill. Reconstructed on the basis of the dozens of architectural elements uncovered in the debris, it was free-standing and three storeys high (25m.), and would have been clearly visible from Jerusalem. Another reason for the choice of its location was the proximity to the ceremonial stairway to the hilltop, and also to conform with ritual purity laws which demanded that a tomb stand outside the boundaries of the hilltop Palace.
The monument’s first storey was a plinth which supported the second, square one; above this was a circular tholos, which incorporated an internal chamber surrounded by an Ionic colonnade, topped by a dome. The roof was a concave cone crowned by a magnificent Corinthian capital with an urn (container for ashes) above it, while another six urns surrounded the roof’s edge.
Fragments of three stone sarcophagi, which may have stood one in each storey of the monument, were scattered around the burial monument. Two sarcophagi were of white limestone, while the third was of hard red limestone, decorated with very finely carved rosettes and palmettes. By contrast with the other two, this one was smashed into thousands of fragments, and scattered all over the burial compound. All three sarcophagi are similar in shape and decoration to those found in the graves of wealthy citizens of Second Temple-period Judaea.
The monument stood for about 70 years; with the outbreak of the Great Revolt against the Romans, and the capture of Herodium by the rebels, they expressed their rage at Herod by smashing his monument and the sarcophagi inside it. Although they bear no inscriptions which allow for certain identification, we can assume that the most impressive of the three sarcophagi, the one most badly damaged, was Herod’s. It seems reasonable to suggest that the white sarcophagi belonged to one of Herod’s wives and/or his children who may have passed away close to the end of his life.

Read more:

• Netzer E., 1982. “Where Was King Herod Buried”, Teva va-Aretz Vol.24 No.2, P. 64. (in Hebrew)
• Netzer E., Kalman Y., Porat R. and Laureys-Chachy R., 2009. “Herod’s Grave and the Royal Theater on the slope of the Herodium Hill”, Qadmoniyot 138 (year 42), Pp. 104-117. (in Hebrew)
• Porat R., Kalman Y. and Chachy R. 2013. “Herod’s Tomb and the Memorial Complex at Herodium,” in G. Stiebel, O. Peleg-Barkat, D. Ben-Ami, S. Weksler-Bdolah and Y. Gadot. (eds.), New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region, Jerusalem Vol. VII, Pp. 257–286. (in Hebrew)
• Netzer E, Kalman Y, Porat R, Chachy-Laureys R. 2010 .”Preliminary report on Herod’s mausoleum and theatre with a royal box at Herodium”, JRA 23, pp. 84-108.
• Netzer E., Kalman Y. and Porat R., 2007. “The Exposure of Herod’s Tomb”, Ariel 182, Pp. 6–29. (in Hebrew)
• Netzer E., Kalman Y., Porat R. and Laureys-Chachy R., 2009. “Herod’s Grave and the Royal Theater on the slope of the Herodium Hill”, Qadmoniyot 138 (year 42), Pp. 104-117 (in Hebrew)

• Netzer E, Porat R., Kalman Y. and Chachi R., 2013. “The Tomb Complex at Herodium”, Mevorah D. and Rozenberg S. (eds.) Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey, Jerusalem, Pp. 240-255.
• Peleg-Barkat O., 2013, “The Architectural Decoration of Herod’s Tomb”, Mevorah D. and Rozenberg S. (eds.) Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey, Jerusalem, Pp. 262-265.
• Foerster G., 2013, “The Sarcophagi from the Mausoleum Unearthed at Herodium”, Mevorah D. and Rozenberg S. (eds.) Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey, Jerusalem, Pp. 266-277.
• Chachi R., 2013, “The Reconstruction of the Mausoleum”, Mevorah D. and Rozenberg S. (eds.) Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey, Jerusalem, Pp. 256-261.

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