The Ossuary of Nicanor of Alexandria, Who Made Gates for Herod’s Temple

An ossuary is a burial receptacle for the bones of the dead. In ancient tradition, the bones were collected approximately one year after the flesh had decayed and were placed in the ossuary. The ossuary’s size is the length of the femur bone, which is the longest bone in the body. Family tombs were common, especially among the rich. This is one of the reasons why the Bible refers to a person being "gathered to his fathers". In 1903 a limestone ossuary was discovered belonging to Nicanor. The inscription in Greek reads: “The bones of the family of Nicanor, the Alexandrian, who made the gates (of the Temple Mount).” Below it in Hebrew is written: “Nicanor Alexa”

Nicanor of Alexandria donated two doors to the Temple which are referred to as the Gates of Nicanor. Opinions differ on their location and the time they were fashioned. The general opinion places the location between the Women’s court and the Temple courtyard with fifteen semi-circular steps leading up to it, on which Levites sang the fifteen “Psalms of the Steps” or Songs of Ascents that can be found in Psalms 120-134.