Tomb II Main Chamber

View of the main chamber of Tomb II at Marisa.  The main two steps lead up to the focal point of the tomb.  Note the two musicians on the wall.  Also, note the multiple openings to the loculi—or burial chambers.

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Tombs I and II were discovered in 1902.  Local Muslims had looted the tombs defacing the human images that were painted on the walls of the tombs.   At that time hasty drawings of the tombs I and II were made and, under difficult conditions, black and white photographs were taken.  Scholars from the École Biblique in Jerusalem visited the caves and also made sketches along with watercolor paintings and they recorded the inscriptions.  These were published by the PEF in 1905. The tomb dates to around 200 BC.

New paintings, based upon the above materials, were made on fiberglass and installed in the tombs in 1993.

Jacobson, David M. “Marisa Tomb Paintings — Recently Discovered Photos Show Long–Lost Details.” Biblical Archaeology Review 30, no. 2 (2004): 25–39.

Kloner, Amos. “Underground Metropolis—The Subterranean World of Maresha.” Biblical Archaeology Review 23, no. 2 (1997): 24-35, 67.