Tombs of the Sanhedrin
Tombs of the Sanhedrin | |
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Rock-cut tombs | |
No. of graves | 63 |
Tombs of the Sanhedrin (
Name
In 1235 Rabbi Jacob the Emissary called them the "Tombs of the Righteous", writing that the tombs housed the remains of "many wise men".[3] They were first called the Tombs of the Sanhedrin by Rabbi Joseph Halevi in 1450,[3] and have been known by that name among Jews ever since.[1]
In Christian literature, Joannes Cotovicus mentioned the tombs, without naming them, in 1598.[4] In 1611 English traveller George Sandys called them the Tombs of the Prophets.[4] They were named Tombs of the Judges – referring to the "judges" of the Great Sanhedrin – by Franciscus Quaresmius in the early 17th century.[4] This is the name they are known by among non-Jews.[1][5]
In the absence of identifying plaques or other indications as to the ownership of the tomb, historians speculate that the name "Tombs of the Sanhedrin" was applied because the tombs contain nearly as many burial niches as the number of members (71 to 73) of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court from the time of the Second Temple till the 5th century.[4][6] However, many archaeologists refute any connection to the Sanhedrin.[4][7] In Durchs Heilige Land (Basel, 1878), a journal of travel in the Holy Land, Swiss theologian Hans Konrad von Orelli said he believed that the Tombs of the Sanhedrin and the Tombs of the Kings (Kivrei HaMelakhim) were not necessarily connected to the names people associated them with.[1] Instead, this could have been a burial cave for a wealthy Jewish family.[8]
History
The Tombs of the Sanhedrin have been a site for Jewish pilgrimage and prayer since the thirteenth century.[9] Since medieval times, Jews considered the tombs holy and would not pass by them without stopping to pray there.[1] In the mid-1800s, the tombs were demarcated by a huge boulder that guided pilgrims to the site.[10]
The Tombs of the Sanhedrin are located at the head of the
The Sanhedria necropolis covers an area of approximately 10 dunams (1.0 hectare; 2.5 acres).[14]
In his 1847 book, The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described, English archaeologist John Wilson describes his exploration of the Tombs of the Sanhedrin:
"From the
sarcophagi had formerly been placed. In each of these three tombs there were numberless names written on the walls by devout Jews who had visited them".[4]
Courtyard and facade
An ancient
The facade of the tomb appeared differently in medieval times. One report describes a "beautiful structure" containing "caves within caves". A 1659 drawing shows an entrance with a grand, arched colonnade.[2]
Burial cave
Inside are four burial chambers on two levels.
In the late 1860s a French archaeologist,
Opinions differ as to how the bodies were placed in the niches. According to Har-El, Jews placed their deceased either in stone sarcophagi in the niches; or laid them on the floor until the soft tissue decayed, and the collected their bones into ossuaries, which they placed in vaults.[15] Williams and Willis quote an archaeologist who opines that the bodies, swathed in burial clothes, were placed directly into the niches, which were then closed or sealed with a stone slab.[17]
Public access
Through the 20th century, the tombs were open to the public. In the 1930s, a young Shlomo Moussaieff claimed he found ancient coins in the caves and sold them to support himself after his father threw him out of the house.[18]
Following the
In the 1950s the Jerusalem municipality planted pine[5] trees around the site, which is in close proximity to several other 1st- and 2nd-century rock-cut tombs,[19] and created a public garden called Sanhedria Park.[20] The adjacent Jewish neighborhood of Sanhedria was also named for the tombs.[19]
In the 2000s, access to the Tombs was restricted due to vandalism and a gate was placed across the entrance. The tombs have been defaced by graffiti[20] and the forecourt is often clogged with garbage and filth.[14] Several clean-up efforts have been mounted by civilian volunteers.[9][20]
Commemoration
In the 1950s the State of Israel issued a 500 prutah banknote that depicted the facade of the tombs.[5]
See also
- Rock-cut tombs in Israel
- Cave of the Minor Sanhedrin
- Tomb of Simeon the Just
References
- ^ a b c d e Ben-Arieh, Yehoshua (1979). עיר בראי תקופה: ירושלים החדשה בראשיתה [A City Reflected in its Times: New Jerusalem – The Beginnings] (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications. p. 39.
- ^ ISBN 978-0191647666.
- ^ a b "Tombs of the Sanhedrin". JLife. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Wilson, John (1847). The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described. Vol. 1. White. p. 492.
- ^ a b c d e קברי הסנהדרין [Tombs of the Sanhedrin] (in Hebrew). Jerusalem Municipality. 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ )
- ^ ISBN 0405102259.
- ^ "Ancient Jerusalem's Funerary Customs and Tombs: Part Three, L. Y. Rahmani, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter, 1982), pp. 43–53.
- ^ a b Hirshfeld, Tzofia (23 December 2009). לכלוך בקברי הסנהדרין? נסגור אותם [Garbage in the Tombs of the Sanhedrin? Let's close them] (in Hebrew). BeChadrei Charedim. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ Ben Arieh (1979), p. 38.
- ^ Robinson, Edward; Smith, Eli (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838. Murray.
- ^ ISBN 0826485715.
- ^ "From the Sanhedrin Tombs to Jason's Tomb". Jerusalem Municipality. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ a b c "Sanhedriyya – Archeological Appendix" (PDF). Jerusalem Municipality. Spring 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ^ ISBN 9652292540.
- ^ Eliyahu Wager (1988). Tombs of Sanhedria. Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Publishing House. p. 211.
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ignored (help) - ^ a b c Williams, George; Willis, Robert (1849). The Holy City: Historical, Topographical and Antiquarian Notices of Jerusalem. Vol. 2. pp. 152–156.
- ^ "A Man of Good Fortune". Haaretz. 10 October 2001. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ ISBN 1858282489.
- ^ a b c Hasson, Nir (14 January 2010). "As state slumbers, volunteers step in to rescue neglected Sanhedrin Tombs". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 October 2012.