The Giv’at ha-Shoqet Mausoleum

Giv’at ha-Shoqet was used as a burial ground in the first century ad. At the end of the second century ad, a mausoleum (measuring 30 by 30 feet) was constructed there. Excavations reveal that this structure was used no later than the Severan dynasty (ad 193–235), and again from the time of Emperor Diocletian (ad 284–305) until the first decade of the fourth century ad. Three superimposed layers of burials have been found in the lower part of the mausoleum:

1. The uppermost layer (stratum I) contained an empty sarcophagus incised with the name of Hezekiah.

2. The middle layer (stratum II) contained a complex of seven rectangular graves, most of which contained coffins made of thin lead sheets. One such coffin was decorated with reliefs depicting Hercules in a gabled frame, a roaring lion, Corinthian columns, grape clusters, vine tendrils, and birds and contained a diadem and a bracelet made of gold and precious stones. Several third century bc glass vessels were also discovered (Kaplan, “Kefar Gil’adi”, 154–55; Kaplan, “A Mausoleum at Kfar Giladi”).

3. The lowest layer (stratum III) contained a marble sarcophagus holding a human skeleton in a wooden coffin. The lid of this sarcophagus is decorated with rosettes on its short sides and has a painted Greek inscription on one of its long sides bearing the name Heraklides.