A new subterranean city of the dead will soon be filled with 23,000 bodies
the Minharot Olam project in Jerusalem is like navigating a massive honeycomb. The developers have cut a mile of tunnels through the earth that are over 50ft high. Some are 18 storeys below ground. Within each, giant drills have burrowed thousands of holes into the walls and ground. Soon they will be filled not with honey, but bodies: 23,000 of them, to be exact.
This subterranean city of the dead, inaugurated on October 30th, lies beneath Har HaMenuchot, Jerusalem’s largest cemetery, which is nearly full. Other local graveyards are already out of space; hence this novel solution. In some parts of Har HaMenuchot the dead are in high-rise structures. But these are costly and still take up a lot of space. Building down leaves more land for the living.
Mr Shachor says it will cost around $70m. Special equipment drilled the rows of graves into the rock at a specific angle to avoid seepage of decomposing bodies. Smells are a worry, so filters will refresh the underground air four times an hour. Three large-capacity lifts will ferry funeral parties down. The tunnels are designed to let the elderly trundle through on their mobility scooters.
Israel’s pension scheme covers the basic costs of funerals, and burial societies must provide free plots. But many Jews want to be buried in specific places—next to a spouse, perhaps, or with a view of the holy city. They are usually willing to pay extra: 40% of those buried in Jerusalem have bought their plots in advance. Official prices range up to $6,000. The rights to prime spots can change hands for much more.
Minharot Olam’s administrators believe that a cemetery sheltered from the weather, with fixed temperatures and round-the-clock lighting, will appeal to customers. But no one has bought a plot there yet. Still, Mr Shachor is confident he will soon be digging deeper down. “This is the only way we can ensure that the dead’s final resting place doesn’t come at the expense of the living.
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