Rock-cut tombs were a form of burial and interment chamber used in
ancient Israel
The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation (see Israelites) appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscri ...
. Cut into the landscapes surrounding ancient
Judean
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
cities, their design ranges from single chambered, with simple square or rectangular layouts, to multi-chambered with more complex designs. Almost all burial chambers contain a platform for primary burial and an
ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
or other receptacle for secondary burial. There is debate on if these tombs were originally intended for secondary burials, or if that practice arose later.
The use of rock-cut cave tombs in the region began in the early
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
ite period, from 3100–2900 BCE. The custom lapsed a millennium, however, before re-emerging in the earliest
Israelite
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stel ...
tombs, dating to the 9th century BCE in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. The use of rock-cut tombs reached its peak in the 7th and 8th centuries BCE, before rapidly declining and eventually falling out of use in the 6th century BCE in some regions.
Use of the tombs has been recorded as recently as the
late Roman period around the 3rd century CE.
The use of such tombs was generally reserved for the middle- and upper-classes, and each typically belonged to a single
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
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Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
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*Radiation therapy
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Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
or
extended
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
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* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* Ext ...
family.
In the Hebrew Bible
Genesis
A number of rock-cut tombs are mentioned in the Bible. Possibly the first, called "Cave of Machpelah", was purchased by
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
for
Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...
from
Ephron the Hittite Ephron is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Ephron (biblical figure), Hittite who sold a cave to Abraham according to the Bible
*A family of American writers:
** Henry Ephron (1911–1992), father
** Phoebe Ephron (1914� ...
(). Traditionally, this tomb, which may have been either a rock-cut or a natural cave, is identified with the
Cave of the Patriarchs
, alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham)
, image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009
, map ...
in modern
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
. According to very old traditions, Abraham,
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...
and
Rebekah
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblic ...
,
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...
and
Leah
Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...
were also buried there (). The
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
reaffirms this tradition: "Their (Jacob and his family) bodies were brought back to
Shechem
Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first c ...
and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money" ().
Judges through Kings
Rock-cut tombs are also mentioned in the
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdo ...
(), the
Second Book of Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshu ...
(), and the Second
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the boo ...
().
History
Bronze Age: Canaanite tombs
Early Canaanite I (3100–2900 BCE) period tombs are the earliest rock-cut tombs yet discovered in Israel; several have been found beneath the
Ophel in Jerusalem. The custom had lapsed by the second millennium.
["Ancient Jerusalem's Funerary Customs and Tombs: Part Two", L. Y. Rahmani, ''The Biblical Archaeologist'', Vol. 44, No. 4 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 229–235.]
Iron Age: First Temple period
Jerusalem
The
Silwan necropolis
The Silwan necropolis is the remains of a rock-cut cemetery assumed to have been used by the highest-ranking officials residing in Jerusalem. Its tombs were cut between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE.[Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...]
, the capital city of the
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...
. Its tombs were cut between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE. It is located in the
Kidron Valley
The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...
across from
biblical Jerusalem of the kings of Judah, in the lower part of the ridge where the village of
Silwan
Silwan or Siloam ( ar, سلوان, translit=Silwan; gr, Σιλωὰμ, translit=Siloam; he, כְּפַר הַשִּׁילוֹחַ, translit=''Kfar ha-Shiloaḥ'') is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, on the outskir ...
now stands.
The Necropolis from the Time of the Kingdom of Judah at Silwan, Jerusalem, David Ussishkin, ''The Biblical Archaeologist'', Vol. 33, No. 2 (May 1970), pp. 33–46 The architecture of the tombs and the manner of burial is different "from anything known from contemporary Palestine. Elements such as entrances located high above the surface, gabled ceilings, straight ceilings with a cornice, trough-shaped resting-places with pillows, above-ground tombs, and inscriptions engraved on the facade appear only here."
[ The stone benches on which bodies were laid out and the small square entrance doors are similar to those found elsewhere in Judah. Ussishkin believes that the architectural similarity to building styles of the ]Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
n cities validates the Biblical description of Phoenician influence on the Israelite kingdoms.[ There are three different types of tombs in the Silwan ]necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
, each type concentrated in one specific area. Seven of the tombs feature gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...
d ceilings and extremely fine stonework. David Ussishkin
David Ussishkin (Hebrew: דוד אוסישקין; born 1935) is an Israeli archaeologist and professor emeritus of archaeology.
Biography
David Ussishkin was born in Jerusalem. Ussishkin is the grandson of the Zionist leader Menachem Ussishkin. H ...
describes them as "among the most beautifully rock-cut tombs known in the Jerusalem area even when compared with tombs of later periods."[ In contrast with the extensive family tombs of later periods, these are for single or double burials, with only one of the seven having room for three bodies. Later destruction has effaced the original doorways.][ A second tomb type described by Ussishkin has flat ceilings and one, two, or three chambers of well-dressed stone carefully squared into spacious rooms. One features a rear chamber of especially "impressive" scale and quality. There are tombs combining characteristics of the two described here above. The third type consists of just three "magnificent" monolith tombs, now located in the northern part of the village. These have been carved out of the cliff to create free-standing buildings above the underground burial chambers. Hebrew inscriptions survive on these three tombs; these are the only ancient inscriptions that survive in Silwan.][
]
Second Temple period
Rock-cut tombs, which had been absent from Judea since the First Temple period, made a comeback during the Hasmonean era of the Second Temple period
The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Je ...
, but they were only used by the elites.
Primary burials
At the beginning of the Hasmonean period, under the influence of Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
burial customs from Marisa, members of the elite were buried in wooden coffins inside shafts known in Latin as ''loculi'' and in Hebrew as ''kokhim''.[ Later, in the area of Jerusalem, primary burials took place either in ''kokhim'', or in arched niches known in Latin as ''arcosolia''.][
However, the regular type of burial during the Early Roman period (c. 63 BCE – 70 CE), used by the non-elite population, was done in trenches.] Trench burials were quite varied, with one or two bodies, either in primary or secondary burial
The secondary burial (German: ''Nachbestattung'' or ''Sekundärbestattung''), or “double funeral”Duday, Henri, et al. The Archaeology of the Dead: Lectures in Archaeothanatology. United Kingdom, Oxbow Books, 2009. (not to be confused with dou ...
, with even a case of an infant buried in a jar coming to light. If such a simple grave was hewn into the rock, archaeologists speak of a cist tomb (Keddie 2019, p. 227).
Some support the theory that in the Galilee, rock-cut tombs only had a comeback after the destruction of Jerusalem and the influx of refugees from Judaea after 70 CE (Keddie 2019, p. 237).
Secondary burials
Elite burials happened in two phases, the second burial consisting in collecting the bones after the decomposition of the body and placing them in specific places within the tomb – a procedure known as ''ossilegium''.[ During the early Hasmonean period at Jericho, the bones were placed back in the primary burial niches or on benches.][ Around 20–15 BCE, Judaean elites started using ossuaries made of limestone, a custom that continued in the Jerusalem area until little after 70 CE (Keddie 2019, p. 230).][ The very large, monumental tombs of elite families from the Late Hellenistic period, often capped by pyramids or accompanied by impressive markers known as ''nefesh'', are giving way in the Early Roman period to such enhanced by elaborate and refined facade relief decorations (Keddie 2019, p. 229).][
]
Jerusalem
During the Second Temple period, rock-cut tombs were built outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem in every direction,["Ancient Jerusalem's Funerary Customs and Tombs: Part Three Ancient Jerusalem's Funerary Customs and Tombs: Part Three, L. Y. Rahmani, ''The Biblical Archaeologist'', Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter 1982), pp. 43–53,] but predominantly to the north and south of the city.[Hachlili, Rachel]
Jewish Funerary Customs, Practices and Rites in the Second Temple Period
pp. 1–2, 30–36. Boston: Brill, Leiden, 2005. The tombs extend as far as 7 km from the city walls, with the more prestigious tombs located close to the city.[
The most elaborate group of tombs was in the ]Kidron Valley
The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...
across from the Temple Mount
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
. These include the Tomb of Benei Hezir with the adjacent so-called Tomb of Zechariah
The Tomb of Zechariah is an ancient stone monument in Jerusalem that is considered in Jewish tradition to be the tomb of Zechariah ben Jehoiada. It is a few meters from the Tomb of Absalom and adjacent to the Tomb of Benei Hezir.
Architectural ...
monument (actually not a tomb), and the Tomb of Absalom
The Tomb of Absalom (), also called Absalom's Pillar, is an ancient monumental rock-cut tomb with a conical roof located in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, a few metres from the Tomb of Zechariah and the Tomb of Benei Hezir. Although traditional ...
along with the Cave of Jehoshaphat located behind it. Among the notable tombs are the Jason's Tomb, a large, elaborate, family tomb with multiple chambers and inscriptions in both Hebrew and Greek and the Tombs of the Kings, which is actually the tomb of Queen Helena of Adiabene
Helena of Adiabene ( he, ''Hellēnī''; d. ca. 50–56 CE) was a queen mother of the Parthian vassal state of Adiabene (modern-day Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan). With her husband and brother Monobaz I, she was the mother of Izates II and Monobaz II. ...
and her relatives.[ The elaborate ]Tombs of the Sanhedrin
Tombs of the Sanhedrin ( he, קברי הסנהדרין, ''Kivrei HaSanhedrin''), also Tombs of the Judges, is an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sanhedria. Built in the ...
lie to the north of the city.[ They were so called by later generations because the largest of them contains 70 chambers with burial benches, and the ]Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , '' synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as " rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temp ...
had seventy members.[ Each of the three tombs would actually have contained the burials of a single, multi-generational, wealthy family. They were constructed between the reign of Herod and the year 70.][
File:Sanhedrin tombs 2.jpg, ]Tombs of the Sanhedrin
Tombs of the Sanhedrin ( he, קברי הסנהדרין, ''Kivrei HaSanhedrin''), also Tombs of the Judges, is an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sanhedria. Built in the ...
File:Tomb of the Kings.jpg, The "Tombs of the Kings", believed to be the tomb of Queen Helene of Adiabene; 19th-century lithograph by William Henry Bartlett
Tomb of Jesus: Gospels and archaeology
The Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
mentions the newly rock-cut tomb of Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several ...
().
Proposed candidates for the tomb include the rock-cut chamber inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
, the Talpiot Tomb, and the Garden Tomb
The Garden Tomb ( he, גן הקבר) is a rock-cut tomb in Jerusalem, which was unearthed in 1867 and is considered by some Protestants to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. The tomb has been dated by Israeli archaeologist G ...
.
Late Roman and Byzantine periods
Beit She'arim
The ruins of Beit She'arim (Sheikh Abrekh in Arabic) in the Galilee
Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...
preserve a vast necropolis with catacombs containing a large number of rock-cut Jewish tombs from the late 2nd to 6th centuries CE.[''The Oxford encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East'', Volume 1, pp. 309–311.] The ancient city of Besara, or Beit She'arim, was located near what is now the modern town of Tivon. According to various sources, it was one of the most highly desired burial places for Jews in the ancient world, second only to the Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...
in its desirability. This prestige is attributed to Beit She'arim being named as the burial place of Yehuda HaNasi (Judah the Prince), and is supported by its having the "highest concentration of graphite associated with late ancient Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
ine Jewish populations."[Faust, Avraham, and Shlomo Bunimovitz. “The Judahite Rock-Cut Tomb: Family Response at a Time of Change.” ''Israel Exploration Journal'', vol. 58, no. 2, 2008, pp. 150–170. . Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.] There are a total of 21 excavated catacombs currently excavated, though some experts estimate the remaining undiscovered remains could number in the hundreds or even thousands, with as much as two-thirds of the catacombs geographic spread remaining to be explored.
The graves are widely considered to be exceptional to the region, but others note that many of the death practices present are consistent with conventional Levantine practices.
Layout
Second Temple through Late Roman periods
Tombs included a ''dromos'', or entry-way, through which the tomb was accessed via a descending staircase. Some tombs possess elaborate facades, with the tombs of Be'it She'arim being well known for this feature. Others, such as those outside of Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho ...
, had simple exteriors with a rectangular blocking stone or mudbrick. The simplest tombs feature a single, square chamber with a recess in the center with benches along its edges to allow space for visitors to stand. Into the surrounding walls, save for the side of the ''dromos'', were carved ''loculi
Loculi ( sc, Lòcula) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northeast of Nuoro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 538 and an area o ...
'' approximately 2 meters in length. In more complex tombs, an interment room followed the entrance, in which the deceased's remains were laid on stone benches to decompose. A repository served as an ossuary and secondary burial site to house the remains of the newly deceased with those of ancestors past. The repository also served to receive offerings to the deceased. The chambers of common rock-tombs were about 2.5m x 3m and laid out sequentially; however some had a more complex architecture of clustered and adjoining chambers – with the level of complexity relating to social status.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock-Cut Tombs In Ancient Israel
Rock-cut tombs
Archaeological sites in Jerusalem
Burial monuments and structures
Cemeteries in Jerusalem
Jewish mausoleums