Tombs of the Kings

A monumental rock-cut funerary complex in East Jerusalem, about half a mile north of the Old City walls in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Believed to be the burial site of Queen Helena of Adiabene (d. c. 50-56 AD), a first-century convert to Judaism from Mesopotamia. The complex includes a monumental staircase, spacious courtyard, imposing portico, ritual baths, and subterranean passages that could hold up to 50 burials. Despite its name suggesting royal Judean burials, scholarly consensus attributes it to Helena's family.