The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.33, N.2

32 Pages·1970·3.68 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

The
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
?or
Publishedb y
THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
126 Inman Street, Cambridge, Mass.
Vol. XXXIII May, 1970 No. 2
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Fig. 1. Entrances to the burial chambers hewn in the vertical cliffs of the present village of
Silwan on the east slope of the Kidron valley.
34 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIII,
The Biblical Archaeologist is published quarterly (February, May, September, December)
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Contents
The Necropolis from the Time of the Kingdom of Judah at Silwan, Jerusalem,
by Da vid U ssishkin .........
.............34................. .................
The ExcavationS outh and West of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem:T he Herod-
ian Period, by Benjamin Ma zar ...................................................47
Paul W. Lapp: In Memoriam ....... 60
.................................................
T he N ew Or ganizationo f AS OR
..................................................................................63
The from the Time of the of
Necropolis Kingdom Judah
at Silwan, Jerusalem
DAVID USSISHKIN
Tel Aviv University
One of the impressive archaeological remains from the period of the
First Temple in Jerusalem, when the city was the capital of the kings of
the house of David, is the necropolis sittuatedw ithin area of the present-
,the
day village of Silwan. The existence of the necropolis had been known for
many years, and various tombs were studied by distinguished scholars, pri-
marily C. Schick, C. Clermont-Ganneau, A. Reifenberg, N. Avigad and
recently S. Loffreda.' In spite of its importance, however, a general syste-
matic study of necropolis was not carried out until last year. The reason
,the
for this is, perhaps, to be sought in the hostile nature of the villagers. Al-
ready in the 19th century their notoriety had spread among European trav-
elers and scholars in Jerusalem. C. Warren, for example, wrote in 1876,
1. Cf. C. Schick, Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1890, pp. 16-18, 67, 252-56;
C. Clermont-Ganneau, Archaeological Researches in Palestine (1899), I, 305-13; A. Reifenberg,
Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, XXI (1948), 134-37; N. Avigad, Israel Exploration
Journal, III (1953), 137-52, and V (1955), 163-66; S. Loffreda, Studii Biblici, XVI (1965-66),
85-126.
1970, 2) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 35
"The people of Siloam are a lawless set, credited with being the most un-
scrupulous ruffiansi n Palestine."zT hus, the general survey of the site which
we began in the summer of 1968 on behalf of the Israel Exploration So-
ciety,3 gave us an overall picture of the graveyardf or the first time. A careful
study of the remains indicated the existence of a monumental necropolis,
unique in contemporaryP alestine, where nobles and notables of the king-
dom of Judah were undoubtedly interred.
The village of Silwan and our necropolis are situated on the east slope
of the Kidron valley, opposite and at short distance from the "City of David",
sometimes called the "Hill of Ophel", or the southeasternh ill, which is the
site of biblical Jerusalem. The slope is very steep, and several long and
vertical cliffs are situated there, one behind and above the other, like ter-
races constructedo n the slope of a hill. The tombs are rock-cutb urial cham-
bers, whose entrances are hewn in the vertical cliffs (Fig. 1). All the tombs
are now open and empty and only partly preserved. During the late Roman
period, at the time when Jerusalem became "Aelia Capitolina", or more
probably during the early part of the Byzantine period when extensive
building activities took place in Jerusalem, the cliffs of Silwan were turned
into large stone quarries,w hich resulted in much damage to the tombs. Fur-
ther damage was done during the Byzantine period when Christian monks
settled in the burial-caves,w idened the entrances, made niches in the walls,
destroyed burial resting-places and engraved crosses on the walls. In addi-
tion, a few caves were converted into churches. Finally the necropolis
suffered when the Arab village was built; tombs were destroyed, incorpor-
ated in houses or turned into water cisterns and sewage dumps. However,
we still were able to locate nearly forty tombs which were at least partly
preserved, and we know of the existence of a few others which are by
now completely destroyed.
The tombs, or at least most of them, can be typologically divided into
three different kinds, each of which will be dealt with below. A few tombs
contain elements which are characteristico f two of these types. Significantly,
all the tombs of each type seem to be concentrated in one cliff or area in
the graveyard, a fact which undoubtedly is not accidental.
The Tombs with a Gabled Ceiling
The seven tombs of this group4a re among the most beautifully rock-cut
tombs known in the Jerusalem area even when compared with tombs of
later periods. The stone-dressingo f these rock-cut chambers is very fine. All
tombs are made for a single or a double burial, and only one tomb contains
2. C. Warren, Undeiground Jerusalem (1876), p. 149.
3. The survey was supported by Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University, and the Munici-
pality of Jerusalem. It was carried out with the assistance of Mr. G. Barkai.
4. Some of these tombs were studied by Loffreda (see note 1), who erroneously dated them to
the Hellenistic-Roman period.
36 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST( Vol. XXXIII,
I 3
II
II
0 1 41
Fig. 2. A cross-section and ground-plan of a tomb with a gabled ceiling and a double resting-place.
1970, 2) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 37
resting-places for three bodies. The ground-plans and architecturale lements
are similar in all the tombs (Fig. 2). The entrances were cut in the vertical
cliff (Fig. 1), and one probably needed a ladder in order to enter many of
the tombs. The entrance is narrow and almost square, measuring only about
50 to 60 centimeters (20 to 24 inches). The entrance leads into a rectangular
,na
IF
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Fig. 3. Typical double resting-place with "pillows", one (presumably the husband's) higher than
the other.
burial-chamberw ith a gabled, and in one case rounded, ceiling. The length
of the biggest chamber is 2.40 meters, its width 1.31 meters and its height
in the center 2.55 meters (over seven feet long, four and one-third feet
wide and seven and one-half feet high). The resting-placei s cut in the long
wall of the chamber, to the left or to the right of the entrance. It has the
shape of a rectangular trough, in which the dead person was placed on his
back. A ledge, the width of which is about ten centimeters (four inches),
38 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIII,
was hewn along the upper edge of 'the trough; almost certainly it supported
a lid placed on the trough after the burial. At the bottom at one end of the
trough, a "pillow" was cut in the rock for the head of the dead person. A
depression was cut in the pillow to support the head. It should be noted
that all the pillows were cut at the end of the trough nearer to the entrance.
Two tombs contain a double resting-place (Figs. 2-3). The shape of
the double burial trough is identical to those described above but its width
is doubled. Here also a pillow was cut in the rock, containing two depres-
sions for the two heads. It must be assumed that here a man and his wife
were interred, and this should explain the following curious fact; in each of
the two double -troughst he two pillows are not cut at one level, but one is a
few inches higher than the other. Furthermore,t he bottom of the trough
which corresponds to the higher pillow seems to be higher than the other
half. Thus it seems that one body, almost certainly that of the husband, was
placed higher than the body of the wife, so that the women's inferior status
was also demonstrated after her death!
Finally, another interesting point should be indicated. We have already
mentioned the similarity between the architectural elements of the various
tombs of this group. A comparison between all of the resting-places in the
tombs indicates that they have nearly the same measurementsi n such matters
as the width and height of the trough, the width and height of the pillow,
the width and height of the ledge. The only measurement which clearly
differs is the length of the trough. While the longest one is 2.10 meters
long (almost seven feet), the shortest one is only 1.75 meters (just under
six feet). For various reasons it seems clear that the tombs were prepared
by their owners while still alive, and thus we have to conclude that each
tomb-owner ordered a tomb to fit the measurements of his own body.
The Tombs with a Straight Ceiling
This group includes tombs which mostly contain two or three burial-
chambers hewn one behind the other. Some of the caves are relatively large
and contain chambers of about three meters (ten feet) square. The cham-
bers have straight ceilings, and most of them contain a right-angled cornice
which is cut in the corner of the ceiling and the wall (Fig. 4). A small
number of resting-places for the dead were hewn in each tomb. These are
either benches or a simpler version of the above described trough without
the ledge for supporting a lid. Large entrances are also typical of these tombs
and so far it is not clear how they were blocked.
In addition, there are a few tombs which seem to be a hybrid between
the two above discussed types. Of special interest is one containing a large
burial-chamberw ith a straight ceiling. At the back of the chamber an im-
1970, 2) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 39
pressive resting-place was hewn out of the rock, resembling a sarcophagus
placed on the floor (Fig. 5). Undoubtedly, it was covered with a stone lid
the remains of which are not preserved.
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Fig. 4. Right-angled cornice cut in corner of the wall and straight ceiling of the typical tomb.
The Monolithic Above-Ground Tombs
Three magnificent tombs of this type (as well as a fourth tomb which
resembles them) are situated at the northern end of the village. In the case
of all three, the rock section in which the burial-chamberi s hewn was
separated, in other words cut out, from the continuation of the cliff; this
created an above-ground cube-shaped monolithic tomb. Hebrew sepulchral
inscriptions were engraved on the faqades of all three -tombs;s ignificantly,
while the inscriptions were placed in all the tombs of this group they are
absent in all other tombs in Silwan.
40 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIII,
IP .', I ? C
(cid:127), . .
Fig. 5. Resting-placer esembling sarcophagusi n back of burial-chambero f one of the tombs.
The mostf amousm onolithict ombi s that calledt he "Tombo f Pharaoh's
Daughter."B efore two other monumentsw ere identifieda s being above-
groundm onolithict ombs,t he "Tombo f Pharaoh'sD aughter"w as the only
tomb of that kind known to have existed in the Israelitep eriod.I t is not
surprisingt, hen, that it was studied by many scholars.5T his monumenti s
well preserveda nd is now cube-shapedw ith a flat roof. The tombc ontains
a smallb urial-chambewri th a gabledc eilinga nd a bench for a single burial.
The sepulchrali nscriptionw as almostc ompletelyd estroyedw hen a Byzan-
tine monk widened the entrancet o the tomb. N. Avigad proposedt hat a
pyramidm ust have crownedt he tombi n antiquity.6H e assumedt hat only
the bottomo f the pyramidw as hewn in the rocka nd that the upper part
was constructedw ith stones. In ordert o verify this point we cleanedf rom
the presentf lat roof the accumulatedd ebris.T o our amazementw e learned
that the originalp yramidw as turnedi nto a quarryp, robablyin the Roman-
Byzantinep eriod, and we could see the impressionsle ft by three straight
rows of rectangularst ones which had been removedi n a planneda nd sys-
tematicm anner.
The second monolithict omb, the "Tombo f the Royal Steward,"i s
situated in the main street of the village (Fig. 6). In 1870, Clermont-
Ganneaud iscoveredt wo sepulchrali nscriptionse ngravedi n sunken panels
cut into the tomb'sf agade.H e bought the inscriptionsr,e movedt hem from
the tomb and sent them to Londonw here they are exhibiteda t presenti n
the Britishm useum.'O nly recentlyA vigads ucceededi n decipheringth em.8
The longer inscriptione, ngravedo n the left-hands ide of the faqadea bove
5. Cf. F. de Saulcy, Voyage en Terre-Sainte (1865), II, 307-13; G. Perrot and Ch. Chipiez,
History of Art in Sardinia, Judaea, Syria and Asia Minor (1890), I, 272-83; Clermont-Ganneau,
Archaeological Researches, I, 313-16.
6. N. Avigad, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, LXXXII (1947), 112-15.
7. Clermont-Ganneau, Archaeological Researches, I, 305-13.
8. N. Avigad, Israel Exploration Journal, III (1953), 137-52; V (1955), 163-66.
1970,2 ) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 41
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42 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIII,
the tomb's entrance, tells us, "This is [the sepulcher of . . . ]yahu who is
over the house. There is no silver and no gold here but [his bones] and the
bones of his slave-wife with him. Cursed be the man who will open this!"W e
thus learn that the tomb belonged to a high official of the kingdom of Judah,
a royal steward or a royal chamberlain, whose title "who is over the house"
appears several times in the biblical record. His name was only partly pre-
served and Avigad and Yadin suggested identifying him with "Shebna who
is over the House" (Isa. 22: 15), a high official of king Hezekiah (cf. below).
The inscription also informs us that he was buried in the tomb with his
iimah (translated as "slave-wife"b y Avigad).
A survey of the monument is not easy, as at present it is half buried
under the modern houses of the village. In addition, the tomb was turned
into a cistern at a later period and now its walls are covered with a thick
layer of water-proof plaster. At present it serves as a store. A study of the
exterior of the monument confirmed Avigad's suggestion that it is an above-
ground monolithic tomb. A study of the inside of the tomb indicated that
the original tomb contained two burial-chambersc ut one beside the other.
They were damaged beyond recognition and were connected to form one
single chamber in the Roman-Byzantine period. Significantly, the original
chambers had a straight ceiling with a cornice of the type discussed above.
The remains of a resting-placef or a single person could be discerned in the
inner burial chamber. We reconstructed a double resting-place in the outer
burial chamber but it must be borne in mind that this may have been a
resting-place for one person (or even that there was no resting-placea t all).
The fact that the tomb contained two burial chambers necessitates, in our
opinion, a new interpretation for the baffling shorter inscription which was
engraved on the right-hand side of the faqade.9I t seems to us that this may
be the sepulchral inscription of the person who was buried in the single
resting-place of the inner chamber, while " . . . yahu who is over the
house" and his timahm ay have been buried together in the outer burial
chamber, probably in the double resting-place which seems to have been
cut there.
The Newly Discovered Monolithic Tomb
The third monolithic tomb stands beside and to the north of the "Tomb
of the Royal Steward" (Fig. 6). Its discovery is, undoubtedly, the most im-
portant achievement of our survey. Clermont-Ganneauh ad already discerned
the dressed corner of the monument,'0 but it seems that the faqade was then
hidden, so that he did not see the Hebrew sepulchral inscription, which
was discovered by Prof. A. Reifenberg in 1946.11 During the survey, we
9. Cf. our study in Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 196 (Dec., 1969).
10. Clermont-Ganneau, Archaeological Researches, I, 309.
11. A. Reifenberg, Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, XXI (1948), 134-37.