- Yad Avshalom
Yad Avshalom (Lang-he|יד אבשלום, lit. "Absalom's Shrine"), also known as the Tomb of Absalom, is an ancient tomb with a conical roof located in the
Kidron Valley inJerusalem ,Israel .Archaeologists have dated the tomb to the first century CE. It has been traditionally identified as the tomb of
Absalom , the rebellious son ofKing David , based on a verse in the Book of Samuel: "Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the Monument after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's Monument." bibleverse|2|Samuel|18:18|HE"The Guide to Israel" Zev Vilnay, Hamakor Press, Jerusalem, 1970, "Pillar of Absalom," pp. 157-158]The recent discovery of a fourth-century inscription on one of the walls of the monument suggests that it was the burial place of the Temple priest
Zechariah (priest) , father ofJohn the Baptist . [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=320531 Jewish Yad Avshalom revealed as a Christian shrine from Byzantine era] Haaretz]For centuries, it was the custom among passersby - Jews, Christians and Muslims - to throw stones at the monument. Residents of Jerusalem would bring their unruly children to the site to teach them what became of a rebellious son.
According to a local legend,
Napoleon fired a mortar at the tomb and removed the shape of a hand that topped the conical roof. [Morgenstern, A (2006) " [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=N4q25b69yQ8C&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=yad+avshalom+napoleon&source=web&ots=lCX4O_eMZk&sig=5mNVrgWxJAv9ZAqoj-h_9sVn6Bs&hl=en Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel] " p11, Oxford University Press, ISBN:0195305787] It is known however that Napoleon never reached Jerusalem during his campaign in theHoly Land .Reportably a hand was carved on top of the tomb-indicating it was a tomb of aKohen .A Muslim tradition connects the tomb to the Pharaohs - hence the Arabic name "Pharaoh's Hat".References
External links
* [http://jerusalem360.com/panoramas/tomb_of_absalom_1 Virtual Tour of Jerusalem] Jerusalem360.com
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