For the first time in nearly half a millennia, the tomb of Jesus, the
rock upon which he was laid after the Crucifixion, and from where He
Resurrected, has been opened.
Researchers from the National Technical University of Athens had been
given permission by the caretakers of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
to remove a marble slab that had covered the limestone slab where Our
Lord was placed as part of a conservation effort. It is the first time
since at least 1555 that Tomb had been opened, and as such, it had never
been photographed or seen by any person currently alive.
After removing the marble slab, researchers found a layer of fill
debris, and below that, another marble slab engraved with a cross,
likely from the Crusaders era. When the final layer was removed, a
humble and rough-hewn limestone slab was revealed. This is believed to
be the actual rock Our Lord laid for 3 days after the Crucifixion, and
before his glorious Ressurection.
“I’m absolutely amazed. My knees are shaking a little bit because I
wasn’t expecting this,” said Fredrik Hiebert, an archaeologist with
National Geographic who granted exclusive permission to record the
efforts. “We can’t say 100 percent, but it appears to be visible proof
that the location of the tomb has not shifted through time, something
that scientists and historians have wondered for decades.”
In addition, researchers confirmed the existence of the original
limestone cave walls within the 18th-century Edicule, or shrine, which
encloses the tomb. The site has been venerated since at least 325 A.D., when the Emporer
Constantine sent his mother, Saint Helena – the patroness of
archaeologists, to locate the tomb. The locals directed her to a temple
built by the Roman emperor Hadrian 200 years prior. Hadrian had the
temple built over the tomb in an attempt to deter believers from
venerating the site.
According to Saint Eusebius, the Roman temple was demolished and
beneath it was found the rock-cut tomb. Constantine commissioned a
Church to be built on the spot. Sadly, in 1009, Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim
bi-Amr Allah ordered the complete destruction of the church. The Church
was rebuilt in 1028 after a treaty between the Byzantines and the
Fatimids.
The conservation efforts of Christ’s tomb are part of a larger
project to repair damage in the Church. The tomb has been resealed and
might not be revealed again for centuries. National Geographic will be
airing a documentary about the project.
