King David’s Tomb, Jerusalem, Israel

One of the holiest sites for Jews is the building on Mount Zion known as the Tomb of King David the celebrated Old Testament warrior king of Israel who is traditionally credited with composing many of the Psalms.

The Old Testament clearly indicates that David was buried somewhere else. However, the site — directly underneath the Cenacle, where Christians commemorate the Last Supper — remains a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Muslims and Christians.

David’s death at the end of his 40-year reign is recorded in 1 Kings 2:10: “Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David.”

Archaeologists have shown that the City of David, also called Zion (or Sion), was the low spur south of the Temple Mount and east of the present Mount Zion.

This area, also known as Ophel, is now known to have been the original Jerusalem — making it much older than what is now called the Old City.

But excavations here since the 1800s have failed to identify the royal tomb. Another tradition places the burial of David in Bethlehem, but excavations have not revealed the tomb there either.

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