STARTLING new archaeological evidence could finally solve the mystery over where Jesus was crucified and buried.
The new clues emerging from the dust of one of the world’s most historic sites could finally settle a long-standing debate over the death of Jesus and where he was entombed.
A major theory is that Jesus Christ was crucified at Calvary (known as Golgotha) and buried at the fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located inside the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
But a more recent theory, emerging in the 19th century, holds that Jesus’ burial site is the Garden Tomb — an idyllic ancient rock-cut tomb just 600 metres away from the church.
While both are popular pilgrimage destinations, Christian traditions widely maintain that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the true burial site of Jesus.
New evidence obtained by Italian archaeologists now backs the biblical tradition.
Scientists have discovered and analysed the remains of a plant from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, dating the plant to around the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.
Jesus is widely believed to have been crucified and died in the spring of 33 AD.
The researchers from Sapienza University of Rome claim that the plant identified could even be the same plant referenced in the Gospel of John:
“Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There they laid Jesus,” reads John 19:41.
“The Gospel mentions a green area between the Calvary and the tomb, and we identified these cultivated fields,” lead archaeologist, Francesca Romana Stasolla told The Times of Israel.
Other evidence also lends weight to the theory that the church in question played an important role in Jesus’ history.
Marble tombs on the Holy Sepulchre compound were uncovered by the researchers.
Stasolla explained that she plans to do additional testing of the marble tomb to uncover further information about Jesus’ death.
“We are conducting geological analysis to verify the origin of the marble, and we are also testing the mortar,” she said. “Both tests can give us important information.”
Stasolla added: “Whether someone believes or not in the historicity of the Holy Sepulchre, the fact that generations of people did is objective.
“The history of this place is the history of Jerusalem, and at least from a certain moment, it is the history of the worship of Jesus Christ.”
The team of Italian archaeologists, that has been conducting excavations since 2022, has had to pause its work for several weeks to keep the church accessible during Holy Week and Easter.
The church, which was built in 335 AD on top of a Roman temple dedicated to the goddess Venus, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
Excavation and restoration work has not come without its challenges.
It required the approval of the three central religious communities managing the church — the Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Armenian Patriarchate — as well as a license from the Israel Antiquities Authority.