The building was used as a landowner's burial vault at the beginning of the 4th century CE.
The temple-like facade is of classical style, with two pillars in the center and two elaborate mezuzahs on the sides.
Through the single opening, which used to be closed by a stone door, one enters the burial chamber in which are remnants of two sarcophaguses.
In the next room, there is a columbarium with about 60 recesses that was used for raising pigeons as part of the pagan rites of the Roman period.
The original entrance to this room was through an aperture high on the eastern wall, accessible by ladder.
In a later period, a 'mihrab', a prayer niche that points toward the direction of Mecca, was added in the southern wall of the great room.
The building became a holy place for the Moslems and was called "Makam Nebe Yihya" (John the Baptist is known as Yahya/Yihya in Arabic and in the Qur'an).
The building has remained intact due to its sacredness. Three cisterns and several graves hewn in stone surround the building.
