The Burnt House (House of Kathros)
A priestly home in the Upper City burned in 70 CE, with the family's name on a stone weight
Found 1970 — Nahman Avigad (Hebrew University), Jewish Quarter excavations 1969–1982
Where Jewish Quarter, Upper City, Jerusalem (Israel)
Dates from 1st century CE; destroyed August/September 70 CE · Early Roman · Fall of Jerusalem
Now at In place; the Burnt House Museum, Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem
How The Burnt House (House of Kathros) was found
Found under the rebuilt Jewish Quarter after 1967. The rooms were filled with a thick layer of soot, ash and collapsed beams. A stone weight inscribed in Aramaic 'of Bar Kathros' named the family; the forearm bones of a young woman lay by a kitchen step, and an iron spear leaned in a corner. Coins date the destruction to 70 CE.
What it is
The basement workshop level of a house with a small courtyard, four rooms, a kitchen and a mikveh, full of stone tables, stone measuring cups, ovens, and a stone weight reading 'd'bar Kathros'. The Talmud lists the House of Kathros among corrupt priestly families of the period.
Why it matters for the Bible
This is the most vivid snapshot of the day Jerusalem fell, matching Josephus' report that the Upper City was burned a month after the Temple. The Kathros family belonged to the priestly aristocracy the Gospels describe around the high priests, and the abundance of stone vessels shows the purity concerns of John 2:6 in a priestly home.
The Hebrew word: sa-RAF
שָׂרַף
שָׂרַף is pronounced sa-RAF and means to burn (Strong's H8313).
Places
- Jerusalem — יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Ye-roo-shah-LAH-yim) — foundation of peace
Events
Roman burning of the Upper City (September 70 CE) · Yeshua's prophecy over Jerusalem
The Burnt House (House of Kathros) in Scripture
Luke 19:43-44 'They will not leave one stone upon another' — the burned house is the fulfilment in one family's kitchen.
Matthew 23:37-38 'Your house is left to you desolate' — spoken over Jerusalem.
Lamentations 2:3 An earlier destruction of Jerusalem by fire, read by Jews on the 9th of Av for both Temples.
Questions people ask
What is The Burnt House (House of Kathros)?
The basement workshop level of a house with a small courtyard, four rooms, a kitchen and a mikveh, full of stone tables, stone measuring cups, ovens, and a stone weight reading 'd'bar Kathros'. The Talmud lists the House of Kathros among corrupt priestly families of the period.
When was The Burnt House (House of Kathros) discovered?
It was found in 1970 by Nahman Avigad (Hebrew University), Jewish Quarter excavations 1969–1982, at Jewish Quarter, Upper City, Jerusalem.
Where is The Burnt House (House of Kathros) today?
In place; the Burnt House Museum, Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does The Burnt House (House of Kathros) relate to?
Luke 19:43-44, Matthew 23:37-38, Lamentations 2:3.
Related discoveries
- טָהֳרָהHerodian Quarter and the Palatial MansionWealthy priestly homes of the Upper City with mosaics, frescoes and ritual baths
- מִגְדָּלThe Israelite TowerAvigad's 8th–7th century BCE gate tower with Babylonian arrowheads in the ash of 586 BCE
- הַחוֹמָה הָרְחָבָהThe Broad WallSeven-metre-thick fortification from Hezekiah's expansion of Jerusalem
- שְׁבִיJudaea Capta CoinsRoman coins celebrating the conquest of Judea with a weeping woman under a palm tree
- רָעָבGivati Parking Lot Mansion ('Queen Helena's Palace')A grand first-century building in the Lower City, proposed as the palace of the convert queen of Adiabene
- נוּסPella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem ChurchThe Jordan valley city to which, Eusebius says, Yeshua's followers fled before 70 CE
Sources
- Avigad, Discovering Jerusalem (1983)
- Wikipedia: Burnt House
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