Monolith-1

MONOLITH-1 is the southernmost of the four monoliths, located on the upper ridge next to Monolith-2. The façade and original entrance are preserved as well, as is the side wall north of the entrance. The monolith is also known as the Royal Steward's Tomb due to an inscription that was once engraved on its lintel, which tells us that the tomb's occupant held this official position. Removed in 1871, today the inscription is on display in the British Museum. In some early photographs of Silwan, pre-1871, the Royal Steward Inscription can be seen above the entrance to the former-tomb in situ. This attests to the viewshed of the monumental inscription owing to the monolith's commanding position on the Olivet Range. The former-tomb is now the lower quarter of a much larger house that was built above it (see Image 1). Both Charles Clermont-Ganneau and Louis-Hughes Vincent, in their descriptions of Silwan, wrote that the house was called bayt šarraf and that it had belonged to the village's leader.

The tomb and inscriptions were first documented in 1870 by Charles Clermont-Ganneau, who procured the inscriptions from the Arab home-owner on behalf of the British Museum. In 1871, the inscriptions were chiseled from the former-tomb and shipped via Alexandria to London. In his account of how he discovered the tomb, published in 1899 (Archæological Researches During the Years 1873–1874), Clermont-Ganneau included architectural drawings and plans (see Images 2 & 3). Almost a century later, beginning in the late-1960s, the monolith was excavated by David Ussishkin as part of his larger survey of the Silwan necropolis. In Ussishkin’s survey, the monolith is catalogued: Silwan Tomb 35.

The epigraphic dating of its inscriptions suggest that Monolith-1 was built during the Iron III period (late-8th  through 7th centuries BCE). Throughout most of its history, as the structure was put into different uses, the interior was augmented and changed. It appears that the interior originally consisted of two chambers, which may have facilitated dual burials as indicated in the inscription. During the Byzantine period, the monolith was converted into a cell for Christian monks. It was probably during this time that the beam holes were cut into the front of the monolith in order to support an awning. The current structure above it was built much later. This home was once one of the most prominent buildings in Silwan and it can be seen in the earliest photographs of the village. This suggests that the house is probably several centuries old, possibly dating to the early-Ottoman period.