Archaeologists have recently uncovered a large cemetery where the Jerusalem model of the Holyland Hotel once sat. Hundreds of thousands of tourists have flocked to the site, never knowing that they were standing on top of a remarkably well-preserved Intermediate Bronze cemetery.

For forty years, the Holyland Hotel model was a highlight of many tourists’ visits to Jerusalem. But then the owners decided they could make more money if the land was developed into high-rise apartment buildings. Construction began while an alternate location for the model was sought.

Earlier this year the model was transported from its original location to the Israel Museum where it is now on display to the public. What no one knew is that the model site was a cemetery during the Intermediate Bronze Age.

About 20 shaft graves have been excavated so far, but it is estimated that there are 50 tombs in the area.

Shaft graves are the most common type of tomb from the Intermediate Bronze Age. This period dates from approximately 2300-2000 B.C., and has also been known as Early Bronze IV and Middle Bronze I.

A shaft grave consists of two sections: a shaft and a burial chamber. The photo above shows a tomb with most of the top missing, but gives a good top-plan of the tomb. The shaft is in the back and the burial chamber is in the foreground.

More of this tomb is preserved, including about 5 feet (1.6 m) of depth of the shaft. Typically the shafts are about 6 feet (2 m) deep. The burial chamber was sealed off from the shaft by a blocking stone, which is visible below the boy’s hands.

In this tomb, a larger blocking stone has been preserved in the shaft. Visible behind Superman is an opening to the burial chamber.

This burial chamber was preserved to a greater height, but the large hole in the ceiling gives a good view. Other burial chambers are preserved intact, but dark caves don’t look as interesting in a photograph.

Finds from the tombs indicate that they continued in use into the Middle Bronze period (2000-1550 B.C.). The Mount of Olives is also home to a cemetery from this period, but less is known about it because later cemeteries were built over it (in the Second Temple and modern periods). This cemetery is located 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the Temple Mount (here’s the kmz file for those with Google Earth).

As far as we know, this discovery has not yet been reported in the media.

Excavations began this week in the City of David under the direction of Eilat Mazar. The plan is to dig for six months, ostensibly with hopes of learning more about the structure identified by the excavator as the palace of David.

Area G from the east, 2 days ago

From a distance, it looks like someone else is digging in the City of David as well.

View from east, 2 days ago

The Guardian has an article ostensibly about Jerusalem, but which seems to have been the result of a tour with archaeologist Gabriel Barkay. This is one of those articles that reminds you not to believe everything that you read. Among the errors in the first two paragraphs, Barkay worked in Silwan (not the City of David) in 1968-1970 (not in the 1970s) conducting a survey (not an excavation).

The author writes, “In the 1970s, he led a group of school children on a tour of first Temple tombs above the Valley of Hinnom….” The year was 1979 and he was conducting an archaeological excavation, not leading a tour. Some school children did join the excavation as volunteers, but I can hardly imagine Barkay leading some tour when “one of the pupils started hammering at a stone slab which suddenly gave way” – yikes! Not exactly how one should do archaeology, but, of course, it didn’t happen that way at all. Instead of this sloppy journalism, I recommend an article on Barkay that was published last year in Haaretz starting here and continuing here.

Gabriel Barkay and Michael Avi-Yonah, 1968
Unpublished photo from a forthcoming BiblePlaces.com photo CD