Tomb of the Prophets

The Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (

Burial chamber

The chamber forms two concentric passages containing 38 burial niches. The entrance to the large rock-cut burial cave is on the western side, where a staircase descends, flanked on both sides by a stone balustrade. It leads into a large circular central vault measuring in diameter. From it, two parallel tunnels, wide and high, stretch some through the rock. A third tunnel runs in another direction. They are all connected by cross galleries, the outer one of which measures in length.
Research shows that the complex actually dates from the 1st century BCE, when this style of tombs came into use for Jewish burial. Some Greek inscriptions discovered at the site suggest the cave was re-used to bury foreign Christians during the 4th and 5th centuries CE. On one of the side walls of the vault, a Greek inscription translates:

Put thy faith in God, Dometila: No human creature is immortal!

Holy site

The site has been venerated by the Jews since the Middle Ages, and they often visited the site. In 1882, Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin acquired the location for the Russian Orthodox Church. He planned to build a church at the site, which aroused strong protests by the Jews who visited and worshipped at the cave. The Ottoman courts ruled in 1890 that the transaction was binding but the Russians agreed not to display Christian symbols or icons at the site which was to remain accessible for people of all faiths.