Archaeologists digging in the Herodium complex on the West Bank have uncovered unusually lavish and Romanate remains in the mausoleum, bolstering the theory that Herod the Great and his family may have been buried there.
Herod built Herodium as a massive complex, complete with his winter palace, administrative buildings and this tomb.
“What we found here, spread all around, are architectural fragments that enable us to restore a monument of 25 meters high, 75 feet high, very elegant, which fits Herod’s taste and status,” he told The Associated Press in an interview at the hillside dig in an Israeli-controlled part of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem.
Three intricately carved sarcophagi indicate that more than one person was buried in the mausoleum, but so far they’ve not found any explicit evidence that one of them was Herod himself.
That’s why the style of architecture and art is so significant: Herod’s Romanophilia was unique for his time and place.
Exciting news. But I had to chuckle :giggle:
at how, in your link to AP article, they called the digging team “scientists.” Archaeology is more of an artistic adventure, no?
I think it’s definitely both combined. You need the deft hand, attention to detail, creativity and eye for aesthetics of the artist, as well as the punctilious documentation, measurement, testing and careful reasoning of the scientist.
And the indifference to lousy pay of either the eager student, the curious local, or the independently wealthy retiree.
Or the hobo. Don’t forget the hobo.
Archeology is artistic on more than one level. You do more brushwork than many painters!
😆 True that.