Archaeologist finds tomb of King Herod

Archaeologist finds tomb of King Herod

By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer 54 minutes ago

JERUSALEM - An Israeli archaeologist has found the tomb of King Herod, the legendary builder of ancient Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Hebrew University said late Monday.

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The tomb is at a site called Herodium, a flattened hilltop in the Judean Desert, clearly visible from southern Jerusalem. Herod built a palace on the hill, and researchers discovered his burial site there, the university said.

The university had hoped to keep the find a secret until Tuesday, when it planned a news conference to disclose the find in detail, but the Haaretz newspaper found out about the discovery and published an article on its Web site.

Haaretz said the tomb was found by archaeologist Ehud Netzer, a Hebrew
University professor who has been working at Herodium since 1972. The
paper said the tomb was in a previously unexplored area between the two
palaces Herod built on the site. Herod died in 4 B.C. in Jericho.