The Kidron Valley Tombs
The tombstones in the Kidron Valley – The Absalom Monument, Zechariah's Tomb and The Tomb of Bene Hezir
At the bottom of the Mount of Olives, close to the bed of the Kidron Valley, are a number of extremely impressive burial structures carved in the rock. These are burial caves and commemorative tombstones of the rich of Jerusalem and its priests that scholars think were built towards the end of the Second Temple Period. Despite their relatively late dating, they are popularly known by names connected with biblical events.
The Absalom Monument
The lower part of the Absalom Monument is cube-shaped and carved out of the rock, while its upper part is built of stone. The façade of this tombstone has high pillars, capitals and much decoration. Inside the structure there are a number of rooms that were used for burial.
The source of the name "the Absalom Monument" is from the biblical story of Absalom, King David's third son, of whom it is written:
"Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar which is in the King's Valley, for he said, 'I have no son to keep my name in remembrance'; he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day" (II Sam. 18:18)
The Tomb of the Sons of Hezir
The Tomb of Sons of Hezir is a burial cave carved out above the Kidron Valley cliff, facing west.
The front of the cave has two pillars, with two pilasters and a decorated cornice and it leads into burial rooms that were carved into the mountain. The burial cave is dated by scholars to the second century BCE. Above the façade of the cave an inscription was discovered reading: "This is the grave and monument of Elazar Hania Uazar Yehuda Shimon Yohannan sons of Yosef son of Obad Yosef and Elazar sons of Hania Priests of the Hezir family". According to this inscription it would seem that in this cave were buried the descendents of the priestly family of "Hezir" which was known from the time of King David:
"So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe--now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter…." (II Kings, 22:14 )
Zechariah's Tomb
Zechariah's tomb is carved entirely from the rock. The monument is dated as being from the 1st century BCE. The monument has no burial room and it can be assumed that it was built as a monument for a grave that was nearby that has not survived or whose hewing was not completed. According to a Jewish tradition from the 13th century, this impressive moment is connected to the killing of Zechariah the Priest in First Temple times:
"Then the spirit of God took possession of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada….But they conspired against him, and by command of the King [Joash] they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord". (II Chron. 24: 20,22)
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