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He was considered the most powerful leader of the ancient kingdom of Judea, a man who thought nothing of having slaves haul vast amounts of stone and soil into the desert to create massive hilltop vacation homes.

But the final resting place of Herod the Great had remained a mystery for more than 2,000 years - until a group of Israeli archeologists uncovered the remains of an ancient podium and pieces of an elaborate sarcophagus they believe to have held the remains of the legendary ruler.

"We have found what we believe without a doubt to be the remains of Herod's tomb," said archeologist Ehud Netzer, 73, a Hebrew University professor who has spent most of his adult life excavating Herod's legacy of palaces and began the search for his tomb 35 years ago.

Herod, best known in Judaism as a powerful king and in Christianity as the instigator of the Massacre of the Innocents, was also known for his massive building projects, including the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and palaces in Jericho and at the clifftop fortress of Masada.

Herodium, a summer vacation spot that would become his burial site, was built between 22 and 15 BC, at the height of Herod's reign. Situated on a hilltop artificially built up by slave labour into a giant anthill shape, it housed a fortress, royal apartments, bathhouses and gardens at its protected top and a city at its base.

Now operated by the Israeli Nature and National Parks Protection Authority as a national park - although it's located in the occupied West Bank just east of Bethlehem - the remains of its four-leaf clover observation posts, synagogue, ritual bath, elaborate columns and advanced system of water cisterns remain visible.

The ancient Jewish historian Josephus Flavius wrote of Herodium as Herod's burial site; after his death in 4 BC in Jericho, a funeral procession made its way past Jerusalem and south to the hilltop fortress, which is 12 kilometres from Jerusalem and just east of Bethlehem. But the historian never noted the location of the tomb, and it remained lost in time, even through 30 years of on-and-off excavations.

But a last push during the last two years, led by Prof. Netzer, eventually led to the tomb's discovery. Earlier efforts, he said, focused on the solid base of the site; instead, he focused the most recent dig on a northeastern slope. There they found a "monumental" set of stairs, about 6.5 metres wide, which they believe to have been constructed for the funeral procession.

Among the ruins are parts of a white-stone podium that was likely a monument's base and several pieces of stone decorated with rosettes and geometrical shapes, thought to be part of a sarcophagus.

No remains or inscriptions have been found to confirm the finding, but Prof. Netzer believes the monument and sarcophagus were destroyed by Jewish rebels who later used the site as a refuge against the advancing Roman army, and the sarcophagus could have belonged to no one but Herod.

"It's a great satisfaction," he said, smiling. "I'm not sure I have myself digested it fully."

The findings, although announced with much fanfare, have already drawn some skepticism from those who warn that more evidence is needed.

"It's very strange. Why is it located in the lower part of [Herodium]?" said Arthur Segal, a professor of classical archeology at the University of Haifa, who suggested a great leader is unlikely to have been buried at that level. "It could be Herod the Great; it could be one of his relatives. We still have no proof whatsoever - no inscription."

Special to The Globe and Mail

THE DISCOVERY

A burial place not far from where the king reigned

The Hebrew University team concentrated their dig on the northeast slope of the massive hill that allowed Herod such a commanding

view of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. The complex included a guest spa at the base of the mound and a hilltop fortress

so well fortified that Jewish resistance fighters used it as a base during the Bar Kokbah revolts against the Romans in 132-135 A.D.

BIOGRAPHY

The man, the king, the legacy

Origins: Herod the Great, who ruled the kingdom of Judea from 37 to 4 BC, ascended the throne as an appointee of the Roman empire, and established what became known as the Herodian dynasty. Born about 73 BC and made governor of Galilee as a young man, he fled from Jerusalem to Rome during the invasion of the Parthians in 40 BC; he later returned to fight and conquer Judea on Roman orders.

Jewish tradition: Known as a powerful ruler, his longest legacy is a series of elaborate palaces that he used as fortified retreats at different times of the year. He approved a massive renovation and expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and built palaces at Jericho and Masada and the port of Caesarea as well as the hilltop palace complex he named for himself, Herodium, also known as Herodian.

Christian tradition: He is perhaps best known as the leader who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents. The New Testament says that he learned of the birth of Jesus as the new king of the Jews and ordered the slaughter of all male children under age 2 in Bethlehem; an angel came to Joseph to warn him of the plan and told him to flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary.

Death: After years of powerful and often bloody reign - he dodged an assassination attempt and executed a wife, three sons and a brother-in-law, but also saw his people through drought and hunger and built Judea into a prosperous kingdom - he took ill and died in Jericho in about 4 BC.

Source: Carolynne Wheeler