Israeli archaeologists uncovered an elaborate mansion believed to be the 2,000-year-old home of a queen.
Diggers at the site in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem — also known as the City of David — unearthed remains of a building including storerooms, living quarters and ritual baths.
The home is believed to be that of Queen Helene of Adiabene, whose clan ruled a region now in northern Iraq. The find, until recently buried under a parking lot, is by far the largest and most elaborate structure discovered by archaeologists in the area, The Associated Press reported.
Historians believe it is Queen Helene’s home because hers is the lone wealthy family Jewish historian Josephus Flavius noted lived in the area.
”This amazing structure was destroyed with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.,” Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Doron Ben-Ami told reporters.
Originally from Adiabene, in northern Iraq, the queen and her family converted to Judaism and came to Jerusalem several decades before the Temple was destroyed in the year 70.
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