Excavation report describes ancient road and marble monument at Holy Sepulchre

Right · 1A newly published archaeological report on excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem describes two finds: a stone-paved ancient road and the remains of a circular marble monument around the tomb Christians venerate as Jesus' burial place. 1 2 Right · 1The surviving section of road measures roughly 10 by 12 feet and lies beneath a Crusader-era walkway inside the church. Its original edges are lost, but its curve and steep slope suggest it climbed toward the southwest. 2 Right · 1The road dates to an early Roman phase before Emperor Hadrian's second-century redevelopment of Jerusalem, so it may have been in use during Jesus' lifetime, according to the Daily Mail. It was abandoned when Constantine's church complex was built in the fourth century. 2

Right · 1Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla of Sapienza University of Rome, who leads the excavation, wrote that one possibility, 'at present no more than a hypothesis', is that it was a suburban road ascending toward Calvary, if the site served as a place of public executions. She considered it unlikely to have been a construction-crew route or a small path to nearby tombs, because of the step and its dimensions. 2 Right · 2Archaeologists have also found the remains of a circular marble monument about 20 feet wide, built around the rock-cut tomb chamber. Fragments lie beneath the present-day shrine. The team describes it as the earliest archaeologically documented monument built around the venerated tomb. 1 3 Right · 2The monument was assembled from reused marble slabs, shaped and joined with mortar, and a narrow channel in the marble appears to have carried water into a nearby collection system. Two slabs carry faint decoration that seems to post-date Constantine. Stasolla suggested the surviving marble may come from repairs after the Persian attack on Jerusalem in 614 AD, so it may be a later rebuilding rather than Constantine's original. Mortar analysis is under way to establish the building sequence. 1 3 2

Right · 2Stasolla wrote that the surrounding rock was deliberately cut away, leaving 'the chamber in which tradition recalled the deposition of Christ'. She also wrote that it is possible the tomb's memory 'had crystallized within the early community and had been transmitted across generations'. The circular form matches early depictions of the shrine, which suggests the fourth-century structure was also round. 1 3 Right · 1The Daily Mail also reports that plant remains from the site suggest parts of it were once cultivated, echoing the Gospel of John's garden. Stasolla's team announced the remains of an ancient garden in April 2025 and dated them to around the time of the crucifixion. 2 Right · 2The finds bear on a long-running debate over where Jesus was buried. Many scholars favour the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, citing first-century rock-cut tombs in the area, while some argue the Garden Tomb fits the biblical account better. Neither article presents the new finds as settling the question. 1 3