the road that connects the tombs is called king's highway.
the road that connects the tombs is called king's highway.
the road that connects the tombs is called?
king's highway
Na
Na
the silwan necropolis, the most important ancient cemetery of the first temple period, is assumed to have been used by the highest-ranking officials residing in jerusalem, the capital city of the kingdom of judah. its tombs were cut between the 9th and 7th centuries bce. it is located in the kidron valley across from biblical jerusalem of the kings of judah, in the lower part of the ridge where the village of silwan now stands. 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 phoenician cities validates the biblical description of phoenician influence on the israelite kingdoms. there are three different types of tombs in the silwan necropolis, each type concentrated in one specific area. seven of the tombs feature gabled ceilings and extremely fine stonework. david ussishkin 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.
rock-cut tombs in ancient israel