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CARL RASMUSSEN/HOLYLANDPHOTOS.ORG
ROYAL RESTING PLACE. The “Tomb of the Kings” in Jerusalem is one of the city’s most elaborate tombs. Dating to the first century C.E., the funerary complex has a courtyard and grand entrance (pictured), once topped with three pyramids, as well as a large staircase and ritual pool. A rolling stone blocks the subterranean entrance to the tomb, and the interior includes multiple burial chambers and two hidden passageways. Most scholars believe the tomb was the final resting place of Queen Helena of Adiabene. Helena converted to Judaism and moved from Adiabene, a kingdom in upper Mesopotamia (now northwestern Iraq), to Jerusalem, where she lived for many years with other members of the royal family.