<< Text Pages >> Cave of the Patriarchs - Rock Cut Tomb in Palestine
Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 25 February 2010 Page Views: 8302
Multi-periodSite Name: Cave of the Patriarchs Alternative Name: Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi MosqueCountry: Palestine Type: Rock Cut Tomb
Nearest Town: Hebron
Latitude: 31.524744N Longitude: 35.110726E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Rock Cut Tomb in the West Bank. The compound, located in the ancient city of Hebron, is the second holiest site for Jews (after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem) and is also venerated by Christians and Muslims all of whom have some traditions which maintain that the site is the burial place of three Biblical couples: (1) Abraham and Sarah; (2) Isaac and Rebekah; (3) Jacob and Leah.
According to Midrash and other sources the Cave of the Patriarchs also contains the head of Esau, and according to some Islamic sources it is also the tomb of Joseph. Though the Bible has Joseph buried in Shechem (the present-day Palestinian city of Nablus), Jewish aggadic tradition conserved the idea that he wished to be interred at Hebron, and the Islamic version may reflect this. The Jewish apocryphal book The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, also states that this is the burial place of Jacob's twelve sons.
The caves under the enclosure are not themselves generally accessible; the waqf have historically prevented access to the actual tombs out of respect for the dead. Only two entrances are known to exist, the most visible of which is located to the immediate southeast of Abraham's cenotaph on the inside of the southeastern section. This entrance is a narrow shaft covered by a decorative grate, which itself is covered by an elaborate dome. The other entrance is located to the southeast, near the mihrab, and is sealed by a large stone, and usually covered by prayer mats; this is very close to the location of the seventh step on the outside of the enclosure, beyond which the Mamelukes forbade Jews from approaching.
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