In the time of Jesus, Jerusalem was surrounded by a vast necropolis, or city of the dead, on the north, east and south. Some of the tombs date from the period of the Judean Monarchy and from the post-Babylonian Exile. During the Hellenistic and Hasmonean periods more elaborate tombs were constructed. However, the greatest expansion of these cemeteries took place during the Herodian period—800 tombs were discovered within a radius of 3 miles (5 km) around the city limits