Jerusalem cemetery goes deep underground with tunnel burials
JERUSALEM — A beehive-like structure built deep underground in Jerusalem is providing an innovative solution for the holy city’s chronic shortage of burial space for the dead.
Tunnels stretching more than a kilometre (half mile) in length beneath Jerusalem’s main cemetery have been carefully excavated over the past two years to make room for some 22,000 graves — enough space to meet the city’s needs for the next decade.
A 50-meter (55-yard) elevator shaft will connect the world above with the world below.
“We came up with this idea to provide a solution under the cemetery with burial structures, but also hidden from the eye,” said Arik Glazer, chief executive of Rolzur Tunneling. “There is not enough land and we take advantage of this.”