Herod’s Tomb Coming Back to Life?

Archeologists are in an uproar over an unusual plan to reconstruct the tomb of the infamous Herod the Great out of plastic. Israeli archeological sites often include reproductions of historical structures, but only in miniature. But under a plan being promoted Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Herod’s tomb would be reconstructed at its original site at the Herodium southeast of Jerusalem and incorporated into a visitors’ center. “It’s crazy – Archeology is not Disneyland,” said one top archeologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told the daily newspaper Ha’aretz. Herod ruled over Judea in the first century B.C., rebuilding the Second Temple and figuring prominently in the New Testament as ordering the Massacre of the Innocents.