Burnt House

Jerusalem

LoginSave

Buried under rubble for centuries and only recently excavated, this house was destroyed in 70 CE when the Romans put the city to the torch. The archaeological remains on display include Roman-era coins, stone tablets, ovens, cooking pots and a spear that were found at the site, as well as a stone weight with the name ‘Kathros’ on it (Kathros was a priestly family living in the city at this time).

Piecing together the history of the house, the museum has created a multimedia presentation shown in a number of languages, including English. Most of it is a cheesy movie with actors recreating scenes from the destruction of the Second Temple. Screenings (25 minutes long) begin every 40 minutes. Show times vary, so be prepared to wait.

Burnt House is included in the Jewish Quarter combined ticket, which includes access to the tower at Hurva Synagogue and the Herodian Quarter Museum.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Jerusalem, Israel

    City of David

    0.21 MILES

    As teeming with controversy as it is with ancient history, the City of David is one of Jerusalem's most active archaeological sites. The oldest part of…

  • Israel, Jerusalem, Old Town, The Tower of David also known as the Jerusalem Citadel

    Tower of David

    0.25 MILES

    First things first: despite being referred to as the 'Tower of David', the citadel dominating views as you enter Jaffa Gate started life as a palace of…

  • Jerusalem, Israel - July 26, 2015: Panorama of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - church in Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

    Church of the Holy Sepulchre

    0.25 MILES

    Four magnificent arches, their lintels richly decorated with Crusader crosses, herald the entrance to one of Christianity's most sacred sites. The church…

  • JERUSALEM, ISRAEL JUNE 10 2015: Israeli Temple Mount policeman greets the locals under the arches near the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount on June 10 2015 in the Old City of Jerusalem Israel.; Shutterstock ID 408810679; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Middle East Online Highlights Update

    Temple Mount/Al Haram Ash Sharif

    0.2 MILES

    There are few patches of ground as holy – or as disputed – as this one. Known to Muslims as Al Haram Ash Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as Har…

  • People prays and walk in front of the western wall, wailing wall or kotel.

    Western Wall

    0.13 MILES

    The air is electric at Judaism's holiest prayer site, where worshippers recite scriptures, lay their hands on 2000-year-old stone and utter impassioned…

  • 500px Photo ID: 69901347 - Memorial site at Yad Vashem.

    Yad Vashem

    3.4 MILES

    Israel's official memorial to the six million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis is powerful, poignant and a masterpiece of design. The museum's name…

  • Israel Museum

    Israel Museum

    1.67 MILES

    More than 5000 years of cultural treasures are assembled around the vast Israel Museum's indoor and outdoor galleries. Highlights are the titanic statues…

  • Israel, Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock. Unesco.

    Dome of the Rock

    0.22 MILES

    The jewel in the crown of Temple Mount/Al Haram Ash Sharif is the gold-plated Dome of the Rock, the enduring symbol of the city and one of the most…

View more attractions

Nearby Jerusalem attractions

1. Herodian Quarter Museum

0.05 MILES

Descend to Jerusalem's ancient bones at this small subterranean museum. Among its impressively intact archaeological sites is a 600-sq-m Herodian-era…

2. Hurva Square

0.06 MILES

The beating heart of the Old City's Jewish Quarter, Hurva Sq thrums with life: tourists rustle heritage maps of the city, children scamper around the…

3. Hurva Synagogue

0.08 MILES

To the local Jewish community, the reconstructed Hurva Synagogue is a symbol of resilience. The earliest synagogue on this spot was wrecked in the early…

4. Four Sephardi Synagogues

0.1 MILES

This synagogue complex offers a taster of four places of worship, tightly packed together and able to be visited with a single ticket. The two oldest…

5. Alone on the Walls Museum

0.1 MILES

Close to the large menorah in the Cardo, the Alone on the Walls Museum presents a Jewish perspective on the May 1948 campaign for control over the city,…

7. Journey to Jerusalem

0.11 MILES

For those interested in exploring their Jewish ancestry, head to the Kotel administration building to try out this computer-based multimedia program…

8. Dung Gate

0.11 MILES

The most convenient Old City gate for access to the Western Wall. The popular theory as to how this unflattering appellation came about is that at one…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "jerusalem/old-city/attractions/burnt-house/a/poi-sig/1030601/1342523",
  "destination": "Jerusalem",
  "continent": "Middle-East",
  "city": "Jerusalem",
  "position": "superzone"
}