A tomb thought to be Herod's may not be after all. Certain design elements, such as two staircases on top of the mausoleum that block entrance, aren't in keeping with the master builder's deisgn, experts say [Credit: Joseph Patrich]
Posted on 10/19/2013 6:37:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Documents from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus suggest Herod was buried at the Herodium, laid out on a gold bed draped with opulent fabrics, and thronged by the entire army and a massive funerary procession, said Joseph Patrich, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
But Herod's exact burial place remained a mystery for thousands of years.
Then, in 2007, archaeologist Ehud Netzer announced he had discovered the king's final resting place. The tomb was a 32-by-32-foot (10 by 10 meters) building with a pointy roof and three coffins. One of these coffins, an intricately carved red stone, was alleged to be the tomb of the great king. A large exhibit about the tomb is currently on display this month at the Israel Museum. (Netzer died in 2010 in a fall not far from the excavation site.)
Unfit for a king
Now, Patrich and his colleague Benjamin Arubas, also of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, are claiming the tomb isn't Herod's at all.
The rather modest structure is too small for the master builder to have envisioned for himself, and the poor planning and design are also uncharacteristic, Patrich and Arubas say.
For instance, the building is small compared with other royal tombs of the day.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
A tomb thought to be Herod's may not be after all. Certain design elements, such as two staircases on top of the mausoleum that block entrance, aren't in keeping with the master builder's deisgn, experts say [Credit: Joseph Patrich]
At least this is better than the “Jesus ossury” story. But in a lighthearted refrain, here is a satire from “The Onion”: http://www.theonion.com/articles/religious-scholars-discover-jesus-christ-delivered,34217/
What a find that would be.
Love these stories. Amazing times we live in that we can even uncover such antiquities and debate them.
It's hard to enforce ones "grand tastes" when one is dead. Maybe those in charge of the burial didn't have such "grand tastes" for the king?
The discoverer thought that the structure of the tomb used to be much taller and grand, and had been pulled apart for building stone.
“He’s dead Jim”- Spock to Kirk.
Freegards
LEX
This could be his tomb - after the original was looted. Or, IIRC, Herod “The Great” was much hated at the time of his death. Perhaps they put him in a modest tomb to hide him from folks who would want to desecrate his grave.
I agree with BOTH your suppositions.
Herod wasn't hated for no reason, was he? (Rhetorical)
He burned alive 40 students and 2 teachers for objecting to having the Roman Eagle God placed at the entrance of the Temple.
He had a group of dignitaries rounded up with orders to have them killed after his death so there would be morning.
All in all not a pleasant guy to have around.
He didn't do it alone, either. Those minions in power that were HIS favorites kept him in power. LOTS of baksheeh handed out, I assume.
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![A tomb thought to be Herod's may not be after all. Certain design elements, such as two staircases on top of the mausoleum that block entrance, aren't in keeping with the master builder's deisgn, experts say [Credit: Joseph Patrich]](http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/057/959/i02/herod-tomb.jpg?1381869907)
