The Laughlins

I have been a bit sick lately, but Mark and I decided to take a short walk yesterday. We knew that the Tombs of the Sanhedrin were nearby, so we followed our map and found the pretty park that they were located in. The Sanhedrin was the ancient high court of the Jews, which was composed of 70 esteemed male sages and leaders. They were in charge of rulings on legal matters, which included taking part in the trials of Jesus as well. Today, in the park, there are many different burial caves cut into the hillsides. All of them have been fenced off with big green fences and padlocks (and padlock protectors over the locks). That does not seem to stop curiousity and inquisitiveness though, and I (Aubrey) was determined to find one that was open in some way. I found two.

The tomb with the three columns in front of it (only two columns visible in the 3rd picture below) had a break in the fence behind the middle column, so we squeezed in, and Mark took a look inside with his flashlight, but we didn't go into the tomb itself. There was lots of trash in them and other chambers and tunnels, which we figured a few bums had probably found before us, so we didn't want to "run into" anyone with only our puny little flashlight :) I found one other one that had a large sidehole in it, so we climbed into the area that you could stand up in, but once again, we didn't venture into the other chambers and tunnels. Maybe we'll take a bodyguard with us next time and go exploring. You up for it, Seth?! :)

The largest cave is the one that Mark is posing next to below (and he looks quite small next to it). This cave is talked about in Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's "The Holy Land" book. "Located in a garden at the end of Sanhedrin Street, the cave containing these tombs [Tombs of the Sanhedrin] is notable for its magnificent carved pediment, the finest in Jerusalem. Pomegranates and other fruits are scattered among the stylized acanthus leaves; the workmanship is typically C1 AD. The entrance to the tomb chamber has a smaller pediment. The great chamber immediately inside is unique in that it has two rows of shaft graves (kokhim) one above the other; arcosolia group those of the upper level in pairs. There are two other chambers on the same level, and others below reached by stairs. The number of burials that the tomb can accommodate is responsible for its popular name; it approximates to the membership (70) of the Jewish Sanhedrin."

We didn't get to go in this one, but you can see close-up pictures of the pediments above the cave and their detailings! (In the last five pictures below.)