"Royal" theater box excavated at Herodium

A "ROYAL" THEATER BOX has been excavated at Herodium:

King Herod's royal theater box uncovered at Herodium

By RONEN SHNIDMAN
09/15/2010 00:05

Theater box reveals Jewish monarch's luxurious lifestyle, displays rare example of elaborate style of Roman wall painting found outside Italy.

A royal box built at the upper level of King Herod's private theater at Herodium has been fully unveiled in recent excavations at the archaeological site, providing a further indication of the luxurious lifestyle favored by the well-known Jewish monarch, the Hebrew University announced in a statement released Tuesday.

The excavations at Herodium National Park at the eastern edge of Gush Etzion region, were conducted by Prof. Ehud Netzer under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology.

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The royal box (measuring eight by seven meters and about six meters high) is the central space among a group of rooms attached to the upper part of the theater's structure. This impressive room likely hosted the king, his close friends and family members during performances in the theater and was fully open facing the stage.

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More on the excavations of Herodium (Herod's apparent tomb) here. Todd Bolen has a page on the site of Herodium at his Bible Places website.