The last findings in the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem are perfectly aligned with the description of the tomb of Jesus in the Bible, according to the team
Recent findings in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem have notable parallel to the representation of the Bible of the burial place of Jesus.
In the renowned church, the architects have indicated a place that echoes the gospel of John’s representation: “Now in the place where there was a crucified garden; and in the garden a new tomb, where he was never the man.
The evidence of old olive trees and vineyards has been confirmed by archeobotanical studies and pollen tests on samples of the basilica of less than hundreds, indicating a pre-Christian time line, although the radiocarbon appointment is still pending.
“We know that the area was already part of the city at the time of Emperor Hadrian when the Romans built Aelia Capitolina,” said Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla, from the University of Sapienza de Rome to the time of Israel, quoting the Roman metropolis established on the jerusalem remnants at the beginning of the second century.
“However, at the time of Jesus, the area was not yet part of the city.” The express.
The belief that Christians considered that the crucifixion and the understanding of Jesus passed where the church of the Holy Sepulcher is now rising, with the Calvary or Golgotha as a backdrop, and an agicle built in 1810 marking his grave, he continues to lose.
Stasolla has led the post of ongoing excavations since they kicked off in 2022. The project won the green light in 2019 after years of internal struggle when the three key religious groups overseen the Church -the Orthodox Patriarchy, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Armenian Patriarchy -accepted a reform.
This great face wash included changing the old 19th -century pavements, marking the first significant time of the basilica, as it was affected by a combustion in 1808.
Israel’s antique authority gave the thumbs for archeological work, which is essential for any excavation of Israeli soil.
“During the renovation work, religious communities also decided to allow archeological excavations under the ground,” Stasolla spilled the beans on their first big chat with the time of Israel since the excavators were moved.
She continued to say, “However, we do not currently have active excavation places as the church is preparing for Easter, when it has to be fully accessible to pilgrims.”
She emphasized that because the place is super sensitive and there is a lot of logistics to juggle, they must be very careful at each step of the way.
The whole crew of archeology comes from Italy and has links with the La Sapienza university. Stasolla shared: “We work in shifts, but our Jerusalem team always includes 10 or 12 individuals. The atmosphere here is really unique; we have received a warm welcome and we have established strong links with everyone.”
From time to time, experts in specific fields such as geologists, archeobotanists or archeozoologists in Rome join the archeological team of Jerusalem. The church of the Holy Sepulcher was renewed in March 2025.
“Our Jerusalem team always consists of 10 or 12 people,” said Stasolla. “The atmosphere here is unique; we have been welcomed and built strong relationships with everyone.”
Sometimes specialists such as geologists, archeobotanists or archeozoologists in Rome collaborate with the archeological team of Jerusalem.
Currently, archeologists at the University of Sapienza in Rome are excavating the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. (University Archive of Rome La Sapienza).
“However, most of our team stays in Rome, where we send the data for post -production work,” said Stasolla.
“Although we have not seen the entire church excavated at the same time, new technologies help us to rebuild the greatest image of our laboratories,” said Stasolla. “If we were talking about a puzzle, we could say that we only excavate one piece at a time, but finally we will have a complete multimedia reconstruction of the complete image.”
The Holy Sepulcher has seen its good part of destruction and restoration over the centuries. The original structure was built in the fourth century by Constantine, the first emperor to convert to Christianity.
He suffered a fire in the hands of the Persians in the 7th century and was attacked by Caliph Al-Hakim in 1009.
Its current form is largely due to a wide restoration during the Croatian rule in the 12th century. Stasolla explains that the layers hidden under the floor of the church, like the pages of a book, have provided an extraordinary record of the history of Jerusalem, from the Iron Age (1200-586 BC).
“The church is built on a quarry, which is not surprising, as a large part of the ancient city of Jerusalem is on a quarry,” said Stasolla. “The quarry was operational during the Iron Age. During our excavation, we found pottery, lamps and other everyday articles of this period.”
Before the church was built and after the quarry was no longer used, part of the site was used for agriculture.
“Low stone walls were built and the space was filled with soil,” said Stasolla. “Archeobotanical findings have been especially interesting to us, given what is mentioned in the Gospel of John, who is believed to be written or collected by someone who knew Jerusalem at that time. The Gospel refers to a green area between Calvary and the tomb, and we identified these cultivated fields.”
Artifacts of the time of Emperor Constantine have been discovered in a place in Jerusalem that goes back to the time of Jesus, serving as much as a quarry as a burial with numerous tombs of rock scattered throughout. “We must imagine that as the quarry was gradually abandoned, the tombs were cut at different levels.
“Therefore, the area had several burials from that period. Constantine selected the one that had been revered as the tomb where Jesus was buried, and excavated around it in the area corresponding to the current round, insulating -the other burials.”
Inside the church of the complex Holy Sepulcher, there are several old tombs, among which many Christians are believed to be the final resting place of Joseph of Arimathea, who is said to have provided his own tomb for the burial of Jesus.
Stasolla’s excavation team discovered several articles that were believed to be from the fourth century. Excreasing under the existing structure, he revealed: “Under the current edicule, we have found a circular base that is part of the first monumentalization of the tomb, made of marble.”
Stasolla emphasized the importance of this finding, saying: “It is interesting because the older representations of the Aedicule, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries, describe it as circular. Therefore, we believe that this circular base was part of the original structure built by Constantine.”
The future analysis of the artifact, which measures approximately six meters (almost 20 feet), could provide scholars more information on the rich story of this beloved structure.
“We are performing geological analysis to verify the origin of the marble and we are also trying the mortar,” said Stasolla. “Both tests can provide us with crucial information.”
Another encounter that dates to the fourth century is a collection of coins discovered in the eastern section of the present. The oldest currency was dirty during the reign of Constanti II (337-361 EC), while the most recent were issued under Valens (374-378 EC).
The team has also discovered hundreds of animal bones, centuries of festivals by priests and pilgrims.
A preliminary report on the excavation, published in equality reviewed by “Liber Annuus”, in 2023 describes the content of a structural trench linked to the Crusader period and a modern grave. Both places produced remains of sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, geese and pigeons, as well as a significant amount of fish.
The identified species included a pony fish from the Indo-Pacific Ocean and a Atlantic cod.
“We have also discovered several shells of a kind of terrestrial snail that is still consumed today,” added Stasolla. “This species originated here and spread around the Mediterranean following the crusades.”
The archeologist emphasized that only after a thorough analysis of the discovered bones can we get a more complete image of the changing dietary practices of those who lived and frequented the Church over the centuries.
A complete scientific examination of all DIG findings is expected to be expected, which includes about 100,000 fragments of pottery for several years. However, the excavations will be restarted after the post-oster and is expected to be completed in a few months.
“We only have a part of the north hallway to dig,” said Stasolla.
When asked if archeological efforts could conclusively verify the burial of Jesus in the Holy Sepulcher, Stasolla emphasized the importance of distinguishing faith and historical fact.
“However, it is the faith of those who have believed in the holiness of this place for millennia that have allowed him to exist and evolve,” he said. “This is true for all holy places.
“The true treasure we are discovering is the story of the people who made this place what is expressing their faith here,” he added. “Whether someone believes or not in the historicity of the Holy Sepulcher, the fact that generations of people made is objective. The story of this place is the story of Jerusalem and, from a certain extent, it is the story of the cult of Jesus Christ.”