A rare stonecutter’s mark found in the Isaac Hall of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron has led researchers to an unexpected connection with the medieval royal house of León in northern Spain. The findings were presented at an archaeology and site-preservation conference in Judea and Samaria.
About 200 masons’ marks have been documented in the hall, a Crusader-era structure now used for Muslim prayer, but one unusual sign shaped like a bird’s head stood out. Researchers Haim Shkolnik of the Civil Administration’s archaeology unit and Gershon Bar-Kochba of Orot Israel College and Efrata College said they found no parallel for it at any site in the Land of Israel or elsewhere in the Crusader kingdom.
The search eventually led them to León, where the same exact symbol appears in several 12th-century churches and other buildings. The researchers said that during that period León was ruled by Queen Urraca, considered one of the most powerful women in medieval Europe.
According to historical sources, Urraca saw herself as a successor to Sarah, the matriarch, and developed a spiritual connection to the stories of the patriarchs. Her daughter, Sancha, continued that tradition and at one point received relics attributed to Abraham. The researchers said the evidence raises the possibility that Spanish craftsmen, perhaps under the patronage of the León royal house, took part in Crusader construction or renovation work at the Cave of the Patriarchs. They said the discovery opens a new line of research into the historical and religious links surrounding one of Israel’s holiest and oldest sites.
