MMO:VAS is a multidisciplinary project that explores monumental funerary architecture on the Mount of Olives dating to the first millennium BCE. Directed by Matthew Suriano at the University of Maryland, the project is entirely virtual and based upon legacy material. Our research is conducted through digital modeling, mapping, archival work, and museum-based studies. The project’s primary focus at this time are the monolithic tombs in Silwan that date to the late-Iron Age. In antiquity, this area served as a bounded cemetery for Jerusalem. During the late-Judahite monarchy this necropolis featured at least four standalone tombs that were carved out of the bedrock. The most visible of these monuments today is the so-called Tomb of Pharaoh’s Daughter, while the other three monuments are hidden within Silwan's residential neighborhood. The tombs feature Egyptian architectural motifs and bore Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions on their façades. The Royal Steward Inscription, today in the British Museum, is the most well-known of the inscriptions.

In the Hellenistic Period, during a time of renewed interest in monumental funerary architecture in the area, a series of ornate tombs were constructed roughly 275 meters to the north of Silwan on the Mount of Olives. These funerary monuments included two partially monolithic funerary monuments. The two standalone structures, known today by names taken from the Bible –Absalom’s Pillar and the Tomb of Zechariah– feature Greek architectural motifs. Both tombs are accompanied by rock-cut tombs with richly decorated façades, the Tomb of the Bene-Hezir and the so-called Tomb of Jehoshaphat.

The two groups of tombs on the Mount of Olives, the Silwan monoliths and the Kidron monuments, are evidence of important innovations in mortuary practices during the first millennium BCE. Unlike typical Judean and early Jewish rock-cut tombs, which were below ground and unobtrusive, the monoliths of the Mount of Olives were above-ground and auspicious. The monolithic tombs are distinguished by their visual attributes and in a few instances by their combination of architecture and monumental writing. These attributes relate to their location in the Kidron Valley / Wadi Sitti Maryam and their prominent position on Jerusalem’s eastern viewshed. The tombs' monumentality are enduring features. Long after they ceased functioning as places of burial, the monoliths and the monuments continue to mark Jerusalem's landscape. In recognition of this, the MMO:VAS project seeks to explore the full history of the monumental structures and the various roles they have played in the holy city. 

This webpage is designed to feature the project’s research, highlight current studies, and to serve as a platform for aggregating online resources that pertain to the monumental tombs on the Mount of Olives.