To the north of the Old City, near the current American Colony Hotel, is a monumental tomb of the late Second Temple period. Popularly known as the Tombs of the Kings because of a mistaken association with the burials of the last kings of Judah, this is, in fact, the family tomb of Queen Helena of Adiabene, a kingdom in northern Syria-Mesopotamia. In the middle of the first century C. E., Queen Helena, the ruler of the kingdom, converted to Judaism and moved to Jerusalem with her family.
11.4 Tomb of Absalom. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.
The tomb of Queen Helena is the only Judean tomb singled out for mention by the second century C. E. Greek author Pausanias, who wrote a series of travelogues: “I know of many wonderful graves, and will mention two of them, the one at Halicarnassus and one in the land of the Hebrews. The one at Halicarnassus was made for Mausolus, king of the city, and it is of such vast size, and so notable for all its ornament, that the Romans in their great admiration of it call remarkable tombs in their country 'Mausolea.' The Hebrews have a grave, that of Helen, a native woman, in the city of Jerusalem, which the Roman Emperor razed to the ground" (Graeciae Descriptio 8.16:4—5; translation from M. Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism).
In front of the tomb of Queen Helena is an enormous open courtyard that was hewn out of bedrock, which was accessed by a monumental rock-cut staircase. A large miqveh at the base of the staircase was used by visitors to the tomb. The tomb consists of a porch that originally had two columns, and a rock-cut entablature with a triglyph and metope frieze decorated with vegetal designs including bunches of grapes. The entrance to the burial chambers was sealed by a large round stone in a slot, enabling it to be rolled. The burial chambers, loculi, and benches in the tomb of Queen Helena are cut more finely and evenly than
11.5 Tomb of Queen Helena with monumental rock-cut staircase in the foreground. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.
Most other Judean tombs. This tomb also yielded a large, exquisitely decorated stone sarcophagus (coffin), carved in relief with wreaths and vegetal designs and bearing an inscription indicating that it belonged to Queen Helena.
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