purpose are unknown, but they are most probably connected with the burial of the dead.
Old Testament Period.—The earlier archaeological monuments in Palestine are cisterns and pools for the collection of rain-water, oil and wine presses, and rock tombs (kokim). Hebrew architecture is derived partly from that of the Phoenicians, who borrowed their types from Egyptian and Babylonian sources, partly from the Hittites. David's palace and Solomon's temple were works of Phoenician architecture, whose peculiarity lay in the fact that its fundamental source was not the column but the sculptured rock. Hence the plan of the structure was apt to be subservient to its material; hence, also, was probably due the use in building of enormous blocks of stone, such as are to be seen in the Herodian walls of Jerusalem and Hebron. The excavations which have:taken place in Palestine reveal a standard of material civilization throughout the period covered by Old Testament history, which is low when compared with the standard of the sublime literature to which that period gave birth.
Greek and Roman Periods.—Research has not yet given us a consecutive chronological account of the monuments, or the remains of monuments, that have survived. They may, however, be said to include the rock tombs to be seen in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, Beit Jibrin and elsewhere. A rock tomb may have a much more ancient origin than its surface decoration would suggest. Some of those at Beit Jibrin contain decorations of the Roman period, though the excavated caves themselves may be much earlier. Similarly the tomb of Absalom and the Pyramid of Zacharias in the Kidron Valley to the west of Jerusalem may be works of a more remote age than is suggested by the Egyptian and Graeco-Roman character of their surface treatment.
Herod the Great did much to spread the influence of Roman architecture; and; subsequently, the civilization and arts of Rome were extended by the emperors to the most remote districts of Palestine beyond Jordan and Arabia Felix.
