JERUSALEM, ISRAEL—A monumental entryway to the Herodian Hilltop Palace at Herodium National Park has been unearthed by a team from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The entryway features a complex system of arches spanning its width on three separate levels, and a palace vestibule decorated with frescoes. The archaeologists, Roi Porat, Yakov Kalman, and Rachel Chachy, think that the corridor was back-filled when the hilltop palace was converted into a royal burial mound, and a monumental stairway was constructed from the hill’s base to its peak, over the corridor. Coins and temporary structures from the Great Revolt (66-71 A.D.), and tunnels dug by rebels during the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 A.D.), were found in the corridor. The tunnels had been supported by wooden beams and a roof made of woven cypress branches. To read about a hoard dating to the Bar Kokhba Revolt, see "2,000-Year-Old Stashed Treasure."
