Tombs of Zechariah and St. James
The tomb to the left of the picture is the reputed tomb of St. James. It is opposite the southeast angle of the temple ground. It is an excavated chamber in the rock. The porch in front is eighteen feet wide by nine feet deep. On the south side is an excavated passage leading to the tomb of Zachariah, which is the cubical structure to the right of the picture. It is cut out of solid rock. It is seventeen feet on each side and twenty-nine feet in height. This is supposed to be the tomb of Zachariah spoken of by our Savior, but the Jews claim that it is the tomb of Zechariah who was stoned in the reign of Joash—2 Chronicles 24:20–22. The most picturesque group of sepulchres around the holy city, which is a city of tombs, is that in the Valley of Kedron. The entire face of Olivet above the tombs of Zachariah and St. James is crowded with graves of Jews, and in the Valley of Hinnom are sepulchres without number.
Dr. Porter says that “there is no evidence to connect this monument called the tomb of Zachariah with any Old Testament worthy.” The whole monument is apparently solid, and no entrance whatever is discover-able.
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