JERUSALEM — Archeologists at Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have found the tomb of Herod the Great, the ruthless ruler who is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew as governing Judea during the time of Christ’s birth and who also led a massive expansion of the second temple.
The tomb was found about 10 miles south of Jerusalem at an area called Mount Herodium, where Herod built a palace, according to a May 8 university news release.
Herod, who ruled Judea from 37–4 B.C., is mentioned only twice in the New Testament, in Matthew 2 and Luke 1, but he ruled Judea the first few years of Christ’s earthly life. Herod’s sons and grandsons are referenced elsewhere and sometimes confused with Herod himself. (For instance, Herod Antipas is called "Herod the tetrarch" in Matthew 14:1.) According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod, unable to find the Christ child, had all male boys 2 years old and younger in and around Bethlehem slaughtered.
Ehud Netzer, a professor at Hebrew University who led the discovery, said he is certain the tomb is Herod’s. "The location and unique nature of the findings, as well as the historical record, leave no doubt that this was Herod’s burial site," he said.
Herod’s sarchophagus — his stone coffin — was found broken into hundreds of pieces, presumably destroyed during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans in A.D. 66–72, when Jews took control of the site, the press release stated. It was during this time that the Romans destroyed the temple, which was built several centuries earlier and expanded under Herod. The sarchophagus was made of reddish limetone, had a triangular cover, was around 8 feet long and was decorated by rosettes, the news release said. Such sarchophagi are found only in "elaborate tombs," the release stated. Netzer and Hebrew University scholars have yet to find any inscriptions at the site, although they are still looking, the release said.
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