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Monolith-3 is commonly referred to as the "Tomb of Pharaoh's Daughter" in English, and it bears the same name in Hebrew (קבר בת פרעה). In Arabic it is known as the "Cave of the Saw" (مغارة المنشار). It is the only Iron Age monolith visible from outside of Silwan, as it is presently situated on the periphery of the residential area overlooking the valley with its façade facing northwest (Image 1). The monolithic-tomb was carved from the bedrock of the lower ridge known as "the Belt." To the right (southwest) is a distinct escarpment, while the fenced in area to the left (northeast) of the monolith is a platform created by the Russian Orthodox Church after they bought the property in the 1870s. The monolith is cube-shaped, though most of its backside is attached to the sloping ridge. Its top is decorated with and Egyptian-style cornice on all sides. The flat roof bears evidence of quarrying, which indicates that the monolithic once had a more elaborate roof. Based on this as well as other factors, notably the monolith's shape and its architectural style, it has been suggested that the roof was originally pyramidal. The entrance leads to an antechamber and a burial chamber, which contains the remains of a bench. The present entrance was enlarged during the Byzantine period when the tomb was converted into a lavra by Christian monks. The height of the entrance was raised, cutting through a lintel originally carved above that had featured an inscription. As a result, only the overlapping sides of the original lintel remain. On the left side, the extant lintel still bears signs of Paleo-Hebrew writing. The presence of Egyptian architectural features, notably the cornice, and the absence of Greek features place Monolith-1 in the Iron Age. More specifically, the epigraphic dating of its inscription suggest the Iron III period (late-8th through 7th centuries BCE).
Image 1. Monolith-3 in 2009 (picture from Wikimedia)
Image 2. Architectural plans and drawings of Monolith-3 by de Saulcy
The monolith, because of its visibility and its location outside the village, is the most documented of the four monolithic-tombs in Silwan. It can be seen in an early photograph of the village dating to 1844. Félicien de Saulcy produced the first architectural drawing of the tomb in 1853 (Image 2). A year later, Auguste Salzmann published a series of three photographs with Monolith-3 as subject. Charles Clermont-Ganneau was the first to note the inscriptional remains on the entrance. Research on the monolith during 20th century includes work by Louis-Hughes Vincent, Nahman Avigad, Stanislao Loffreda, and David Ussishkin. In Ussishkin's survey, Monolith-3 is catalogued as Silwan Tomb 28.
The name Tomb of Pharaoh's Daughter is based on references in the Hebrew Bible to an Egyptian princess married to Solomon. The name is traditional, having no historical value, and is often attributed to de Saulcy. Clermont-Ganneau, who studied the monolithic-tomb in the late 19th century, wrote that its name in Arabic was "Cave of the Saw" (مغارة المنشار). L-H. Vincent, in the early 20th century, records the same name but also wrote that the monolith was known to local Christians as either the "Tomb" or "Altar of Pharaoh's Daughter." The monolith would later be referred to locally as the "Moskobiya" (the Muskovite) on account of its Russian ownership.
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