Kidron Valley Tombs

The Kidron Valley Tombs are a group of monumental Second Temple-period Jewish burial monuments located in the Kidron Valley between Jerusalem's Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. The most famous include the Tomb of Benei Hezir, the Tomb of Zechariah, and the Tomb of Absalom. These structures were built to house elite Jerusalem families and reflect the architectural and religious culture of the late Hasmonean and Herodian periods.

The Tomb of Benei Hezir dates to the 2nd century BCE, during the Hasmonean period, making it the oldest of the major Kidron Valley monuments. A Hebrew inscription identifies it as the burial place of the Benei Hezir, a priestly family known from biblical sources. Its architecture combines a courtyard facade with Doric columns and interior burial chambers.

No, despite its traditional name, the monument known as the Tomb of Absalom dates to the 1st century CE, over a thousand years after Absalom, son of King David, would have lived. The name is a much later folk tradition, and the structure is actually a Second Temple-period elite funerary monument. For centuries, Jewish passersby would throw stones at it in symbolic rejection of Absalom's rebellion.

The tombs are prominently visible from the road running through the Kidron Valley between Jerusalem's Old City walls and the Mount of Olives. Some monuments can be approached closely on foot, though access to interior burial chambers is generally restricted. The Tomb of Absalom, Tomb of Zechariah, and Tomb of Benei Hezir stand adjacent to each other and form one of Jerusalem's most striking ancient landscapes.