Display focuses on Herod

Associated Press

JERUSALEM

Israel’s national museum plans to open what it calls the world’s first exhibition devoted to the architectural legacy of biblical King Herod, the Jewish proxy monarch who ruled Jerusalem and the Holy Land under Roman occupation two millennia ago.

The display includes the reconstructed tomb and sarcophagus of one of antiquity’s most notable and despised figures.

Modern-day politics are intruding into this ancient find. Palestinians object to the showing of artifacts found in the West Bank.

The Israeli museum insists it will return the finds once the exhibit closes.

About 30 tons of artifacts will be on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in a nine-month exhibition opening Feb. 12.