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The Archaeology of People: Dimensions of Neolithic Life, Whittle

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<< Text Pages >> Rachel's Tomb - Ancient Temple in Palestine

Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 25 February 2010  Page Views: 5370

Roman, Greek and ClassicalSite Name: Rachel's Tomb Alternative Name: Bilal Ibn Ribah mosque, Dome of Rachel
Country: Palestine
NOTE: This site is 11.282 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Ancient Temple
Nearest Town: Bethlehem
Latitude: 31.720447N  Longitude: 35.202475E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5
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Ancient Temple in the West Bank. Rachel's Tomb is located at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, along Route 60.

Traditions regarding the site as the tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel at this location date back to the beginning of the 4th-century AD. It is considered the third holiest site in Judaism and the symbol of the return of the Jewish People to its ancient homeland. Historically, Muslims also associated the tomb with that of the biblical figure. In recent years however the site has been claimed to be a mosque built at the time of the Arab conquest. Others, relying on biblical texts, place her burial site north-east of Jerusalem in the vicinity of biblical Ramah, modern day ar-Ram.

In 1154 al-Idrisi writes “The tomb is covered by 12 stones and above is a dome vaulted over with stone.” Benjamin of Tudela (1169-71) mentions 11 stones upon the grave covered by a cupola resting on four columns “and all the Jews that pass by carve their names upon the stones of the pillar.” Petachiah of Regensburg explains that the 11 stones represented the tribes of Israel, excluding Benjamin, since Rachel had died during his birth. All were marble, with that of Jacob on top.” In the 14-century, Antony of Cremona referred to the cenotaph as “the most wonderful tomb that I shall ever see. I don not think that with 20 pairs of oxen it would be possible to extract or move one of its stones.” It was described by Franciscan pilgrim Nicolas of Poggibonsi (1346-50) as being 7 feet high and enclosed by a rounded tomb with three gates.

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Nearby Images from Flickr
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Part of Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, 5 April 1967
Schne Feiertage | Season's Greetings
Bethlehem (2023)
Israeli Jeep in Bethlehem, West Bank of Palestine by Andy Swindler

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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