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[[File:Sacred geography, and antiquities (1872) (14769639754).jpg|thumb|250px|Plan of the Tomb of the Kings 1872]]
The '''Tombs of the Kings''' ({{Lang-he|קברי המלכים}} ''Keveri HaMlakhim''; {{Lang-ar|قبور السلاطين}}; {{Lang-fr|Tombeau des Rois}}) are a [[Catacombs|rock-cut funerary complex]] in [[East Jerusalem]] believed to be the burial site of [[Queen Helene of Adiabene]] (died c. AD 50–56), hence: '''Helena's Monuments'''.<ref>The term applied for this site in [[Josephus]], ''[[The Jewish War]]'' (5.4.2.). Cf. ''ibid''. ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]]'' (20.4.3.).</ref> The tombs are located 820 meters (half a mile) north of Jerusalem's [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] walls in the [[Sheikh Jarrah]] neighborhood (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|שכונת שייח ג'ראח}}; Arabic: {{Lang|ar|حي الشيخ جرّاح}})
The grandeur of the site led to the belief that the tombs had once been the burial place of the kings of Judah, hence the name Tombs of the Kings; but the tombs are now associated with Queen Helena of [[Adiabene]].<ref name=Rahmani3>"Ancient Jerusalem's Funerary Customs and Tombs: Part Three, L. Y. Rahmani, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter, 1982), pp. 43-53</ref> According to this theory, Queen Helena chose the site to bury her son Isates and others of her dynasty.
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On June 27, 2019, the French consulate in Jerusalem reopened the site to visitors purchasing tickets in advance.<ref name=Haaretz19/>
==General layout==
From street level a hewn staircase, measuring {{convert|9|m|ft|}} in width and having a length of {{convert|30|m|ft|}}, descends into a carved courtyard.<ref name="Ilan1980">{{cite book |last=Ilan|first=Zvi|editor=Chaim Rubenstein |author-link=:he:צבי אילן |contribution=Tombs of the Kings |title=Israel Guide - Jerusalem (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country)|volume=10 |publisher=[[Keter Publishing House]], in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence |location=Jerusalem|year=1980|pages=174–175 |language=he|oclc=745203905 }}</ref> Alongside the staircase there is built a drainage system and cisterns.<ref name="Ilan1980"/> The main courtyard sinks down to a depth of {{convert|8.5|m|ft|}} within the bedrock and has a total measurement of approximately {{convert|27|m|ft|}} x {{convert|26|m|ft|}}.<ref name="Ilan1980"/> The portal is on its western façade and is ascended by a flight of three steps. In front of the burial cave formerly stood two pillars and two [[pilasters]] carved in the rock face and which are now scarcely visible.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Barclay|author-first=J.T. |author-link=James Turner Barclay|title=City of the Great King (or, Jerusalem as it Was, as it Is, and as it To Be)|publisher=James Challen and Sons|location=Philadelphia|year=1857|page=[https://books.google.ca/books?id=TjkPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA119&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false 193] |language=en |oclc=1152738303}} (reprint: {{OCLC|980280533}})</ref> Above the portal is a [[Doric order|Doric]] [[frieze]], made of [[metope]]s and [[triglyphs]], with a cluster of grapes in the center and wreaths of [[Acanthus (plant)|acanthus]] leaves next to it.<ref name="Ilan1980"/> A leaf [[plexus]] extends along the [[architrave]].<ref name="Ilan1980"/>
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In 1847, the Turkish governor ordered a search for treasures in the tomb but none were found.
In 1863, the French archaeologist [[:fr:Félicien de Saulcy|Félicien
The German architect [[Conrad Schick]] drew up a map of the site. De Saulcy found sarcophagi, one of which was bearing the Hebrew inscription "Queen Tzaddah". He believed this was the sarcophagus of the wife of [[Zedekiah]], the last king of Judah.<ref name=Ynet/>
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The two most common types of tombs in the first century CE are found in this tomb complex. [[Shaft tomb]]s were long narrow shafts in which the deceased were placed and closed with a stone slab which probably had the name of the occupant inscribed on it. Channels in the center of the shafts were probably carved to drain the water that seeped through the rock.
The tombs are now empty, but previously housed a number of [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]]; they were excavated by a French archaeological mission headed by [[Louis Felicien de Saulcy]], who took them back to France. They are exhibited at the Louvre.
Although no kings are known to have been buried here, one of the [[sarcophagi]] bears two [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] inscriptions and is thought to be that of ''Queen Helena of [[Adiabene]]''; the one inscription which reads, ''Ṣaddan Malkata'' ([[Palmyrene alphabet|Palmyrene]]: '''צדן מלכתא'''), and the other, ''Ṣaddah Malkatah'' ([[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: '''צדה מלכתה'''), interpreted by scholars to mean: "Our mistress, the Queen."<ref>''[[Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum]]'', Volume 2, plate 156, p. [https://archive.org/details/CorpusInscriptionumSemiticarumII1/page/n197 179]; cf. ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'' 2:12</ref> The sarcophagus is now at the [[Louvre Museum]] in Paris. The decorative architecture of the tomb complex is [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]], which would fit with this identification.
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