In 31–4 BCE, the Jewish king Herod the Great built a large, rectangular enclosure over the cave to commemorate the site for his subjects. It is the only fully surviving Herodian structure from the period of Hellenistic Judaism. Herod's building, with 6-foot-thick stone walls made from stones that were at least tall and sometimes reach a length of , did not have a roof. Archæologists are not certain where the original entrance to the enclosure was located, or even if there was one. The Herodian building stands on an earlier structure possibly built during the Hasmonean dynasty ( 2nd century BCE).