Disciple of Jesus, Mary’s cousin or a princess: who is in Salome’s grave?

A 2,000 -year -old funeral cave in Israel continues to generate debate. Who exactly here was buried? Unfortunately, Salome was a very common name in biblical times.

The Cave of Salome is located in the low lands of Judea, in the south-central Israel. But to this day, archaeologists have not been able to determine exactly that Salome is buried there.

It was one of the Disciples of Jesusthe woman who claims to have attended the birth of Christ, or an ancient Jewish princess related to one of the greatest villains of the Bible?

Described as “one of the largest and most magnificent funeral properties ever discovered in Israel”, the cave has two funeral chambers and two additional chambers surrounded by an input atrium and an imposing stone wall.

The cave was fully excavated for the first time in the mid -1980s, after being discovered by looterstells the.

The excavations revealed that it was a Jewish grave From the period of the second temple (first century BC to the first century DC), which will have been reused and expanded over the centuries-having become later, in the Byzantine period (V-to-IX centuries), a pilgrimage,.

There is Dozens of registrations and prints carved on the soft walls of the old cave, highlighting two Greek inscriptionsOm the name “Salomé”. Archaeologists believe this inscription is a clue about the person who is buried there. But who would be?

The challenge lies in the fact that Many women named Salome appear in both biblical and historical sources of this period. For all reports, it was a Very common name at the time.

There is a Solomé mentioned in the apocryphal gospel of James as an associate of the midwife without a name present at the birth of Christ. Some scholars believe this figure was sister or cousin of Mariathe Mother of Jesus.

A “Salome” is referred to in canonical gospels as disciple of Jesuswho was present in the crucifixion of Christ – and one of the people who later found his empty tomb.

In addition, a prominent historical figure named Salome appears in reports of the Herodian royal dynasty, either as Herod’s sister or daughterThe Great – Yes, the infamous king of the biblical accounts who ordered the massacre of the innocent.

In a new one, recently published in the magazine ‘Atiqotarchaeologists of Israel’s antiquities authority argue that this last hypothesis is probably the right: Solomeh who is buried in the cave with his name It’s the Herodian Princess.

The authors of the study consider that the size and splendor of the place funeral suggest that it was reserved for a person of status Extremely high, such as a nearby member of King Herod’s family.

Furthermore, resort to historical evidence To show how Herod’s sister, the Great, named Salome, was closely linked to the local region of Idumeia, where the cave is located.

“Given your scale and grandeur, We believe it belonged to the royal family or at least the highest elite in society from the second temple period ”, write the authors of the study, Nir-Shimshon Paran e VLADIK LIFSHITSin your article.

“As we have shown, the region surrounding the Cave of Salome contains several luxury structures belonging to high -ranking individuals, and together with the opulence exceedsL of the funeral property, a connection is proposed to the highest social echelon – the royal family, ”detail the investigators.

“In our opinion, the accumulated data point to Herod’s family as the owner of the cave ”, conclude the authors of the study.