US Tourist Questioned in Israel After Reportedly Seeking Treasures in Cave Linked to Biblical King

An American tourist was questioned by police after spending the night possibly treasure hunting in a Jerusalem cave believed by some to be linked to the biblical King Zedekiah, Israeli media reported.

Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told TheBlaze Wednesday that the “tourist entered the cave and didn’t come out.”

“Security was called in” and after being questioned, he was released, the spokesman added.

Israeli media reported that the tourist managed to elude guards and spent the night in Zedekiah's Cave, also known as Solomon's Quarries. This file photo shows a photographer inside the cave. (Image credit: Shutterstock/Anna Kucherova)

The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported that the 19-year-old hid inside Zedekiah’s Cave, also known as Solomon’s Quarries, after closing time Thursday where he spent the night. According to Ha’aretz:

He was there overnight and started digging in various sections of the cave, apparently seeking to find some of the treasures that various legends say have been buried there over the centuries. […]

The workers found the tourist in the cave covered with mud, his backpack full of stones and shards that he’d dug up from the floor of the cave. He was handed over to police and his findings were confiscated.

According to the Times of Israel, quoting police sources, those findings were “several worthless limestone rocks.”

Contrary to Israeli media reports, the tourist was not arrested, rather was briefly detained, Rosenfeld told TheBlaze, adding that he had since left the country.

The site was once the largest quarry in Jerusalem whose stones are believed to have been used for renovation work on the Second Temple.

Ha’aretz noted that according to Jewish tradition, King Zedekiah tried to escape Jerusalem through the cave.

The massive cave sits under the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.

—

Front-page image via Shutterstock