tomb of Herod

Israeli scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the tomb of Herod the Great - the notorious, Rome-appointed 'King of the Jews', who ruled over the Biblical kingdom of Judaea at the time of the birth of Jesus.Herodium is one of the main palaces built by Herod during his nearly four-decade rule over Judaea as a Roman client king in the first century BC.Located around 12 km south of Jerusalem, it is a double-walled structure whose outer ring was filled with earth, creating an artificial hill.Historians and archaeologists led by Netzer had been searching for the tomb since 1972, but initially excavated in the wrong sections of the compound.Herod the Great, who ruled over Judaea from about 37 to 4 BC, is perhaps best known for his cruelty as described in the New Testament, but also for the grand ancient buildings he constructed in what is now Israel.