Israeli Scientists Uncover King Herod's Tomb

Society | May 8, 2007, Tuesday // 00:00

A group of scientist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced they have found the tomb of King Herod the Great, the Haaretz newspaper informed on Tuesday.

The University will release the details regarding the grave and its exact location at a press conference this later in the day, but the Haaretz newspaper managed to get additional info.

The discovery was made by Hebrew University's Ehud Netzer. The finding of the grave at Herodium solves one of the great mysteries of archaeology in the Land of Israel. Professor Netzer, considered one of the most senior researchers on Herod, has been excavating at the site south of Jerusalem since 1972 in efforts to identify the burial site of the King of the Jews.

Herod, also known as Herod the Great, expanded the Second Temple and built Caesaria, Masada and other monumental works. Born in 74 B.C.E., he died in 4 B.C.E. in Jericho after a long illness. Most researchers believed Herod was buried at Herodium based on the writings of historian Josephus Flavius, however the grave had not been found in the excavations. Netzer's current dig focused on a different area that had not been excavated: halfway between the upper and lower palaces. Until now, the search had focused on the lower palace.

The first excavations of the site were conducted in 1956-1962 by a Franciscan monk, who uncovered most of the remains known today. After the 1967 Six-Day War, the area was conquered by the Israel Defence Forces and Israeli excavations at the site began in 1972.

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