One of the Most Impressive Ancient Burial Caves Found in Israel

December 21, 2022

Wednesday, 21 December 2022 | A 2000-year-old family tomb—one of the most elaborate in Israel—was uncovered in an archaeological excavation in the Salome Cave, in the Lachish Forest in the Judean Shefelah lowlands.

The cave forecourt was excavated as part of the Judean Kings’ Trail Project, led by the Israel Antiquities Authority [IAA], the Ministry for Jerusalem and Heritage, and the Jewish National Fund.

Evidence for centuries-long veneration of the site was uncovered indicating that an esteemed person from a prominent Second Temple-period family was considered to have been buried here.

The burial cave continued in use in the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, becoming known as the Salome Cave, due to a popular tradition that identified it as the burial place of Salome, the midwife of Jesus.

The excavation of the courtyard uncovered a row of shop stalls that, according to the excavators, sold or rented clay lamps. “In the shop, we found hundreds of complete and broken lamps dating from the 8th – 9th centuries AD,” say Nir Shimshon-Paran and Zvi Firer, excavation directors in the IAA Southern Region. “The lamps may have served to light up the cave, or as part of the religious ceremonies, similar to candles distributed today at the graves of righteous figures, and in churches.”

The cave comprised several chambers with multiple rock-hewn kokhim (burial niches) and broken ossuaries (stone boxes), attesting to the Jewish burial custom. The Jewish custom of secondary burial in stone ossuaries is well-known in the archaeological record, but the surprise was the adaptation of the cave into a Christian chapel. Judging by the crosses and the dozens of inscriptions engraved on the cave walls, the chapel was dedicated to the sacred Salome.

The cave itself was excavated many years ago, and now the IAA, is exposing the elaborate cave forecourt. The court, extending over 350 square meters [3,767 square feet], is surrounded by ashlar stone walls, and has stone slab and mosaic floors. The entrances leading into the cave and the interior chapel were exposed, some of the stones carved with fine decorative vegetal designs, including rosettes, pomegranates and acanthus vases, characteristic Jewish features.

According to Saar Ganor, the IAA director of the Judean Kings’ Trail Project: “Once the restoration and development works are completed, the forecourt and the cave will be opened to the public, as part of Judean Kings’ Trail Project. This trail, that crosses the Judean Shefelah, is the backbone of the Jewish people’s cultural heritage, and it encompasses dozens of sites from the time of the Bible, the Second Temple, the Mishnah [first written recording of Jewish tradition] and the Talmud [rabbinic commentary on Jewish tradition and the Hebrew Scriptures]. In the excavations carried out along the Judean Kings’ Trail, the IAA is creating a meaningful deep-rooted connection for the general public between archaeology and the cultural heritage.

Posted on December 21, 2022

Source: (Excerpt from press release issued by the Israel Antiquities Authority on December 20, 2022. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today.)

Photo Credit: Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority