King Herod's tomb unearthed, Israeli university claims
Pastor Dale Morgan
King Herod's tomb unearthed, Israeli university claims*
POSTED: 0306 GMT (1106 HKT), May 7, 2007
Story Highlights
• Tomb of King Herod, ancient ruler of the Holy Land, found
• He built the wall around the Old City of Jerusalem
• Archaeologist Ehud Netzer, a Hebrew University professor, made discovery
JERUSALEM (AP) -- An Israeli archaeologist has found the tomb of King
Herod, the legendary builder of ancient Jerusalem and the Holy Land,
Hebrew University said late Monday.
The tomb is at a site called Herodium, a flattened hilltop in the Judean
Desert, clearly visible from southern Jerusalem. Herod built a palace on
the hill, and researchers discovered his burial site there, the
university said.
The university had hoped to keep the find a secret until Tuesday, when
it planned a news conference to disclose the find in detail, but the
Haaretz newspaper found out about the discovery and published an article
on its Web site.
Herod became the ruler of the Holy Land under the Romans around 37 B.C.
The wall he built around the Old City of Jerusalem still stands, and he
also ordered big construction projects in Caesaria, Jericho, the hilltop
fortress of Massada and other sites.
It has long been assumed Herod was buried at Herodium, but decades of
excavations had failed to turn up the site. The 1st century historian
Josephus Flavius described the tomb and Herod's funeral procession.
Haaretz said the tomb was found by archaeologist Ehud Netzer, a Hebrew
University professor who has been working at Herodium since 1972. The
paper said the tomb was in a previously unexplored area between the two
palaces Herod built on the site.
Herod died in 4 B.C. in Jericho.
Herodium was one of the last strong points held by Jewish rebels
fighting against the Romans, and it was conquered and destroyed by Roman
troops in A.D. 71, a year after they destroyed the Second Temple in
Jerusalem.