Muslims gave the tomb the Arabic name Tantur Fir'aun (طنطور فرعون), "Pharaoh's Hat", due to the shape of its dome. Others explain the sense as meaning "Pharaoh's peak".

The Absalom's Pillar, a tomb in itself, also served as a funeral monument to the burial cave system located behind it, the "Cave of Jehoshaphat".

At the start of the 20th century, the monument was considered most likely to be that of Alexander Jannaeus, the Hasmonean king of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. However, archaeologists have now dated the tomb to the first century CE.

In a 2013 CE conference, Professor Gabriel Barkay suggested that it could be the tomb of Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, based in part on the similarity to Herod's newly discovered tomb (inspect) at Herodium. However there are other similar structures (such as Tomb K3 in Messene) found in the Greco-Roman world.

circa 10 BCE

Archeologically, the so-called "Tomb of Absalom" is not only a burial structure in its own right, with its upper part serving as a nefesh or funeral monument for the tomb in its lower part, but it was probably also meant as a nefesh for the adjacent burial cave system known as the "Cave" or "Tomb of Jehoshaphat (Maarat Yehoshafat)" (peek inside), with which it forms one entity, built at the same time and following a single plan.

circa 10 BCE

Exterior and Facades
The exterior architecture of Absalom’s Tomb exhibits a sophisticated synthesis of stylistic elements derived from Hellenistic Greek architectural traditions, most notably the Doric and Ionic orders. The monument incorporates a Doric frieze (inspect) characterized by triglyphs and metopes, alongside Ionic columns distinguished by their volute capitals. These features are significant because they reflect architectural influences introduced into the region of Judah during the period of Seleucid rule (3rd–2nd centuries BCE), several centuries after the biblical lifetime traditionally attributed to Absalom. This anachronistic combination of stylistic elements strongly supports the scholarly consensus that the monument dates to the late Second Temple period rather than the monarchic era described in biblical narratives.

The structure, commonly referred to as Absalom’s Pillar, rises to an approximate height of 20 metres (66 feet). It is composed of two clearly differentiated sections: a lower monolithic base and an upper constructed superstructure. The lower portion is hewn directly from the natural bedrock of the Mount of Olives, forming a nearly cubic block measuring approximately 6 metres (20 feet) on each side and 6.4 metres (21 feet) in height. This monolithic section is isolated on three sides by narrow passageways that separate it from the surrounding rock, creating the visual impression of a freestanding structure. Its façades are elaborately decorated with pairs of engaged Ionic half-columns (inspect), while the corners are articulated with quarter-columns and pilasters, forming a distyle in antis arrangement. Above these façades runs a Doric entablature consisting of a frieze with triglyphs and metopes, surmounted by an Egyptian-style cornice. The presence of the Egyptian cornice reflects a broader pattern of Near Eastern funerary architecture, where Egyptian motifs were widely adapted and reinterpreted in local contexts during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The upper section, constructed from finely dressed ashlar masonry, rises above the monolithic base and is composed of three distinct architectural elements. Immediately above the Egyptian cornice sits a square plinth, which transitions into a circular drum adorned with a rope-like molding. This drum supports a conical roof with concave sides, often described as a distinctive “hat” shape, culminating in a finial carved in the form of a partially closed lotus flower. The lotus motif, of Egyptian origin, symbolized regeneration and rebirth, reinforcing the funerary function of the monument. The overall composition of the upper structure closely resembles a classical tholos, a circular architectural form associated with commemorative and funerary monuments in the Greco-Roman world. For instance the tomb K3's conical roof, at ancient Messene, is remarkably similar to the upper part of the Absalom's Tomb. Furthermore, its design bears notable parallels to contemporaneous Nabataean funerary architecture, particularly the rock-cut and freestanding monuments of Petra, indicating cross-cultural artistic exchange in the region. Such parallels suggest the integration of local Judean, Hellenistic, and Nabataean artistic traditions within a single monumental form.

circa 10 BCE

Interior
On the inside, the upper part of the monument is mostly hollow, with a small arched entrance on the south side set above the seam area (where the masonry part starts). The monumental structure contains a single burial chamber with three burial niches. It has been compared to Petra, given the rock-cut nature of the bottom segment and the style of the finial. Inside this entrance a short staircase leads down to a burial chamber carved out of the solid, lower section. The chamber is 2.4 metres (7 feet 10 inches) square, with arcosolium graves on two sides and a small burial niche. While the chamber itself is hollowed out of the monument's solid foundation, it is accessible only from the top through a constructed doorway and staircase. The tomb was found empty when first researched by archaeologists.

circa 10 BCE

Byzantine Inscriptions
In 2003, a 4th-century inscription on one of the walls of the monument was deciphered. It reads, This is the tomb of Zachariah, the martyr, the holy priest, the father of John. This suggests that it was the burial place of the Temple priest Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, who lived 400 or so years earlier than the inscription date. This inscription is part of a secondary usage of this monument during the Byzantine period, where Christian monks commemorated stories from the Christian Bible inside old Jewish tombs in the Kidron Valley. The Zechariah inscription has led to confusion with the nearby "Tomb of Zechariah", which commemorates a much earlier figure, the prophet Zechariah ben Jehoiada, according to local folklore; however, it is not a tomb and might also be a monument for the nearby burial cave of the priestly family of Hezir.

A second inscription of the same age discovered in 2003 says the monument is "the tomb of Simeon who was a very just man and a very devoted el(der) and (who was) waiting for the consolation of the people". The words describing Simeon are identical to those from Luke 2:25 as they appear in the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century manuscript of the Christian Bible.

The monumental tomb finds its most compelling architectural cognate not just in the Levantine architectural tradition but also in the Peloponnesian necropoleis, such as the tholos-on-podium tomb K3 of ancient Messene. This typological alignment suggests that the Herodian builders were not operating in isolation but were deeply integrated into a broader Mediterranean funerary tradition.

The architectural affinity between the Tomb of Absalom in Jerusalem's Kidron Valley, Tomb K3 in the Messene necropolis, and the Mausoleum of King Herod at Herodium is rooted in their shared Hellenistic-Roman funerary typology. All three structures utilize a multi-tiered, vertical composition comprising a substantial square podium (or nephesh) that supports a circular tholos or drum, which is subsequently capped by a distinctively conical or pyramidal roof. The monumental tomb K3 however does not contain the connecting drum between the square base and the conical dome. This specific arrangement, often termed a "tower tomb", represents a regional synthesis of Classical Greek forms—such as the tholos—with local Near Eastern monumental traditions.

Both the Tomb of Absalom and the illustrative Mausoleum recostruction of Herod's tomb at Herodium feature a square lower storey topped by an Ionic or Corinthian colonnade, creating a clear visual and structural hierarchy that emphasizes height and visibility from afar. Excavated at the Herodium fortress, this monumental sepulcher represented the pinnacle of royal Judean architecture. It followed a three-storey plan: a solid square plinth, a second square storey, and a crowning circular tholos with an internal chamber. Like the Absalom monument, it was capped by a concave conical roof and decorated with ornate urns and floral capitals, demonstrating how King Herod used standard Hellenistic forms to broadcast his status as a "great builder" within the Roman world.