The Tombs of the Kings (Hebrew: קברי המלכים Keveri HaMlakhim; Arabic: قبور السلاطين; French: Tombeau des Rois) are a rock-cut funerary complex in East Jerusalem believed to be the burial site of Queen Helene of Adiabene (died c. 50–56 CE), hence: Helena's Monuments.

In front of the burial cave formerly stood two pillars and two pilasters carved in the rock face and which are now scarcely visible.

[10] Above the portal is a Doric frieze, made of metopes and triglyphs, with a cluster of grapes in the center and wreaths of acanthus leaves next to it.

[9] The inner tomb is made-up of a complex labyrinth consisting of eight chambers, with a total of 48 burial niches, some of which formerly contained decorated sarcophagi.

[9] The chambers of the royal tomb are made with both kokhim (burial niches) in the old Jewish style, and arcosolia in the Roman fashion.

[12] He writes about Helena, queen of Adiabene, a small kingdom from Mesopotamia (today part of northern Iraq) who came to Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple Period.

[13] After human bones were found, the Jewish community appealed to Sir Moses Montefiore to persuade the Ottomans to halt the excavations.

Bertrand declared: "I am of the firm opinion that this property, the field and the burial cave of the kings, will become the land in perpetuity of the Jewish community, to be preserved from desecration and abomination, and will never again be damaged by foreigners.

He declares that he "knows many wonderful tombs" and mentions two of them, one of which is in Halicarnassus and the other "in [the Land of] the Hebrews" (Greek: ἐν τῇ Ἑβραίων) and has a sophisticated opening mechanism aimed at a certain day of the year and for a certain time: "The Hebrews have a tomb, that of Helena, a local woman, in the city of Jerusalem (Greek:πόλει Σολύμοις), which the Roman emperor razed to the ground.

"[16] A small stone house was built on top of the tomb by Irhimeh clan (Arabic: ارحيمه), a Jerusalemite family.

[18] For this reason, Italian architect and engineer, Ermete Pierotti, thought that St. Stephen's Basiica marked the site of the tomb of Queen Helena, particularly after he discovered there a pyramidal rock formation and what resembled sepulchres.

At the bottom of the stairs there are ancient ritual baths (mikva’ot) as well as a stone wall to the left with a gate.

The 28-meter façade was originally crowned with three pyramids, which no longer exist,[20] and decorated with reliefs of grapes, plexus leaves, acorns and fruit, reflecting the Greek architectural style.

The tombs are now empty, but previously housed a number of sarcophagi; they were excavated by a French archaeological mission headed by Louis Felicien de Saulcy, who took them back to France.