Jason's Tomb (Hebrew: ''kever Yason'') is a

rock-cut tomb A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, so a type of rock-cut architecture. They are usually cut into a cliff or sloping rock face, but may go downward in fairly flat ground. It was a ...

dating to the first century

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

in the Hasmonean period, discovered in the

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with German-Jewish culture and ...

neighborhood in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. It has been identified as the burial site of a certain Jason, possibly a naval commander, based on the charcoal drawing of two warships discovered in the cave. Jason's Tomb Inscription

Discovery and research

The tomb was discovered in 1956 and the authorities in charge of antiquities expropriated the site from its owners in order to preserve it. Levi Yitzhak Rahmani excavated it and published his findings in 1967. The tomb is considered to date from the time of

Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, ...

(r. 103-76 BCE). A ceramic assemblage found here was dated by one expert, Rachel Bar-Nathan, to no later than the

31 BC Judea earthquake The 31 BC Judea earthquake is mentioned in catalogues of historical earthquakes. It affected the Herodian Kingdom of Judea in the Holy Land.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Josephus' narrative The main source on the earthquake is a passage in ''Antiquities ...

, a date not readily accepted by everyone. Coins found at the site date to the first third of the first century CE. The tomb was finally blocked in 30/31 CE.

Description

The building consists of a courtyard and a single Doric column decorating the entrance to the burial chamber, topped with a reconstructed pyramid-shaped roof. Among the carved inscriptions in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

is one that laments the deceased Jason: "A powerful lament make for Jason, son of P.....(my brother) peace ...... who hast built thyself a tomb, Elder rest in peace." Another inscription states that Jason sailed to the coast of Egypt. Inside the cave are eight burial niches. To make room for additional burials the bones were later removed to the charnel space in front.Jacqueline Schaalje
''Tombs in Jerusalem's Valleys''
Jewish Magazine, September 2001 edition. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jason's Tomb Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC 1956 archaeological discoveries

Rock-cut tombs A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, so a type of rock-cut architecture. They are usually cut into a cliff or sloping rock face, but may go downward in fairly flat ground. It was a ...

Burial monuments and structures Archaeological sites in Jerusalem Jewish cemeteries in Israel Jewish mausoleums Cemeteries in Jerusalem Rehavia Tombs in Israel

Discovery and research

Description

See also

References