What is the Tomb Of Samuel?
The Tomb of Samuel 'Nebi Samuel' is the traditional burial site of the biblical prophet Samuel in the Palestinian village of Nabi Samwil in the West Bank.
The site is of both religious and archaeological interest. In the 6th century, a monastery was built at the site in honor of Samuel, and during the early Arab period the place was known as Dir Samwil (the Samuel Monastery).
The present structure is a mosque from the 14th century, built during the Mamluk period. The purported tomb itself is in an underground chamber which has been repurposed after 1967 as a synagogue, today with separate prayer areas for Jewish men and women.
The site is located around Nabi Samwil, a Palestinian village in the Seam Zone of the West Bank, an area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank separated from the rest of the territory by the Israeli West Bank barrier, with the surrounding Palestinian towns of Al Jib, Beit Hanina and Beit Iksa on the other side of the barrier.