#edicule

Visitors admire the newly restored Edicule on 21 March 2017. The floor beneath the shrine is at risk of structural failure, scientists warn.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

By Kristin Romey

8 September 2023

Over the centuries, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre has suffered violent attacks, fires, and earthquakes.

It was totally destroyed in 1009 and subsequently rebuilt, leading modern scholars to question whether it could possibly be the site identified as the burial place of Christ by a delegation sent from Rome some 17 centuries ago.

The results of scientific tests provided to National Geographic appear to confirm that the remains of a limestone cave enshrined within the church are indeed remnants of the tomb located by the ancient Romans.

Mortar sampled from between the original limestone surface of the tomb and a marble slab that covers it has been dated to around A.D. 345.

According to historical accounts, the tomb was discovered by the Romans and enshrined around 326.

Until now, the earliest architectural evidence found in and around the tomb complex dated to the Crusader period, making it no older than 1,000 years.

While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, who according to New Testament accounts was crucified in Jerusalem in 30 or 33, new dating results put the original construction of today's tomb complex securely in the time of Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor.

The tomb was opened for the first time in centuries in October 2016, when the shrine that encloses the tomb, known as the Edicule, underwent a significant restoration by an interdisciplinary team from the National Technical University of Athens.

People line up to visit the renovated Edicule, the shrine that houses what is believed to be the tomb of Christ.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

Several samples of mortar from different locations within the Edicule were taken at that time for dating, and the results were recently provided to National Geographic by Chief Scientific Supervisor Antonia Moropoulou, who directed the Edicule restoration project.

When Constantine's representatives arrived in Jerusalem around 325 to locate the tomb, they were allegedly pointed to a Roman temple built some 200 years earlier.

The Roman temple was razed and excavations beneath it revealed a tomb hewn from a limestone cave.

The top of the cave was sheared off to expose the interior of the tomb, and the Edicule was built around it.

A feature of the tomb is a long shelf, or "burial bed," which, according to tradition, was where the body of Jesus Christ was laid out following crucifixion.

Such shelves and niches, hewn from limestone caves, are a common feature in tombs of wealthy 1st-century Jerusalem Jews.

The marble cladding that covers the "burial bed" is believed to have been installed in 1555 at the latest, and most likely was present since the mid-1300s, according to pilgrim accounts.

When the tomb was opened on the night of 26 October 2016, scientists were surprised by what they found beneath the marble cladding: an older, broken marble slab incised with a cross, resting directly atop the original limestone surface of the "burial bed."

A conservator cleans the surface of the stone slab venerated as the final resting place of Jesus Christ.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

Some researchers speculated that this older slab may have been laid down in the Crusader period, while others offered an earlier date, suggesting that it may have already been in place and broken when the church was destroyed in 1009.

No one, however, was ready to claim that this might be the first physical evidence for the earliest Roman shrine on the site.

The new test results, which reveal the lower slab was most likely mortared in place in the mid-fourth century under the orders of Emperor Constantine, come as a welcome surprise to those who study the history of the sacred monument.

"Obviously, that date is spot-on for whatever Constantine did," says archaeologist Martin Biddle, who published a seminal study on the history of the tomb in 1999. "That's very remarkable."

During their year-long restoration of the Edicule, the scientists were also able to determine that a significant amount of the burial cave remains enclosed within the walls of the shrine.

Mortar samples taken from remains of the southern wall of the cave were dated to 335 and 1570, which provide additional evidence for construction works from the Roman period, as well as a documented 16th-century restoration.

Franciscan priests visit the traditional site of Jesus' tomb during its renovation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

Mortar taken from the tomb entrance has been dated to the 11th century and is consistent with the reconstruction of the Edicule following its destruction in 1009.

"It is interesting how [these] mortars not only provide evidence for the earliest shrine on the site but also confirm the historical construction sequence of the Edicule," Moropoulou observes.

The mortar samples were independently dated at two separate labs using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), a technique that determines when quartz sediment was most recently exposed to light.

The scientific results were published by Moropoulou and her team in 2018 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

“The Miracle of Holy Fire (or Holy Light) is the most important ritual in Christianity and it happens year after year in the Tomb of Christ, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is an annual celebration of Christ's victory over death and Jesus Himself participates.”

“My Grandmother (God Rest Her Soul) with my Aunty and a group of friends was present at the Orthodox  Easter many years ago in Israel, she explained that the Church was so crowded at the Eve of the Orthodox Greek Easter Sunday,  that she could not enter the Church, she was one of many thousands who had to worshipped outside the Edicule Church, waiting for the Holy light, she said that what she and many thousands of witnesses like her witnessed that day stayed with her all her remaining life, my Grandmother and and my Aunty said that whilst in wait, a blue light came from the Church and  went into the outer area, where this blue light lit the sky and thousands of candles held by thousands of worshippers standing outside the Church, including her candles held by my Grandmother, Aunt and their friends, which they brought with them from the UK to Israel for this event, spontaneously lit by the blue Holy light, which was followed by a warm uplifting spiritual feeling of what she described as having Christ's presence, from which many of the Israeli solders and police who were present for crowed control fell to their knees and others cried, they were all very moved by what they witnessed and probably from whatever they individually had experienced or felt at that given moment.  Why does this only happen at the Orthodox Easter and has been happening for over 1,200 years, without fail, and why has it never happened at any other Easter of any other Christian Denominations? I am genuinely curious to know, after all, a Christian is a Christian, no matter his or her denomination.  

I would like to add that I have seen other videos attempting to imply that this is all a hoax and that the Orthodox priest smuggles in some method to ignite the candle or some chemical such as white phosphorus is used which self ignites the candles, which is unstable and cannot be applied to a timer to light all candles at same time of resurrection and most people attending have purchased their candles from a variety of different places, and many bringing the candles with them from their home countries/overseas; all seems very unlikely, however, this has been going on for 1200 years without fail, where such knowledge of self igniting chemicals will not have existed and if they did they will have been applied into war to protect the city from attacks by other religious groups, which never happened and obviously gas lighters will not have existed then to have been hidden to ignite the candle, it will have required an open flame, which could not be hidden, so these types of debunking attempts, I feel have no logical merit or grounds and often applied by those who are very insecure about their own religion or religious views, moreover, how can anyone explain this holy blue light that leaves from the doors of the Church, lights up the night sky with its blue light and ignites the candles of hundreds and thousands of believers who simply lift their candles towards the sky where this blue light brightens the sky and their candles are miraculously lit? there are those who try to argue that the Church sends out a charge of manufactured electricity into the sky which ignites the candles of the believers, which I find absurd, firstly no such technology actually exists today to create such a reaction and if it did it will electrocute and kill all before lighting any candles  and secondly no electricity existed 1200 years ago. I am left with no doubt that this is the Holy Light of Christ Resurrection,  which leads me back to my original question of why does this only occur within the Orthodox Christian religion and not in any other Christian denominations? in my eyes, mind and heart, a Christian is a Christian, no matter their denomination.

So why is this not present in other Christian denominations, is it because the Orthodox Christian Church celebration of Easter is the correct date and the rest of the Christian denominations apply a a wrong date? or is it due to the secret Orthodox Easter Prayer only known by the Orthodox Patriarch that creates this holy light, or is it because the Orthodox Christians have a belief and faith in the appearance of this Holy light which emanates from such faith and belief?, or is it because the faithful ask God for this holy light and God provides?

In respect to this holy fire from the lit candles does not burn, my Grandmother saw that some people would hold the fire on to their skin and plastic bags and paper and it simply would not burn anything the flame came into contact with and others who attempted the same, it actually did burn them, and anything they put to the candle flame it burnt, she said that she put the flame upon her skin and felt nothing, I would argue that this could be a psychosomatic reaction where the human mind can block out pain, but that did not explain how a normal plastic shopping bag would not burn or her Kleenex tissue paper in her bag would not ignite or any other items she had with her would simply not burn,  YET, when the same candle flame  was passed to her friend who was standing next to my grandmother, it burnt her friends hand, her friend asked my grandmother to gave her the same tissue paper my grandmother tried to burn, and in her friends hands, the tissue paper immediately burnt, the candle was passed back and forth between them where nothing my grandmother had would burn and anything her friend had would burn. The next day when they asked a priest to explain this, the priest said that the flame cannot burn those who are truly faithful, that was the only explanation given to her. Again, I fail to understand how this is possible, yet it is, it happened, not only to my grandmother and her friend but to many others who were doing the same and experienced the same. So whether we believe this or not, it happened and continues to happen and has been happening for 1200 years, so, not believing it does not stop it from happening.

Orthodox Christian Arabs, Russians, Serbians, Romanians, Armenians, Coptic's, Ukrainians, Egyptians, Greeks,  and other denominations such as Roman Catholics and protestants who were present to witness the Orthodox Easter, all experienced the same and all moved to tears and Christian unity. My family members have been 2-4 times and each time has been a different experience for them. As my late Grandmother said, there are many thousands of people who attend, separating the curious from the serious believers is very difficult and borders upon becoming a mockery of the Holy Church and our faith in Christianity, with many forgetting that this is a Holy celebration,  not a circus show for those who want to discredit Christianity or for those who need to witness and see to convince themselves to believe, and my Grandmother (God rest her soul) as usual, was right, I happen to agree [with] her.

Is this all  based upon bringing about false beliefs or false prophets? im not sure if I buy into that theory, a holy blue light emanates from Christ tomb and from there it spreads to light other peoples candles, a holy flame that burns some and others does not burn, well, I do not see that as false prophet or promoting false beliefs, because all is shown to emanate from one source, in this case Christ Resurrections, so I do not think false prophets or any form of diversion from Christian belief is being diverted or perverted here, anymore than witnessing tears flowing from Christ or Virgin Mary statues and other miraculous events that take place in the Christian world, which attracts believers, if anything, it reinforces Christian belief and in others it opens up debates, ether way, Christ is on everyone's thoughts and lips.  

The fact is that those that do not believe, no amount of explanation will change their minds,  and for those who do believe, no explanation is necessary, so I have to conclude by saying,  if these things are miracles then we are all truly blessed, if they are not then it is irrelevant, whether the blue holy light is real or not or whether the holy flame does not burn those whos faith is true; what is important to me is that real faith is based just on faith, to truly believe without requiring to see any evidence of the existence of God, that is true faith, and if one can achieve that and be content with that, without needing to see anything that will convince them of their faith, then that person is still truly blessed.”

By Kristin Romey, National Geographic, November 28, 2017

Over the centuries, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre has suffered violent attacks, fires, and earthquakes. It was totally destroyed in 1009 and subsequently rebuilt, leading modern scholars to question whether it could possibly be the site identified as the burial place of Christ by a delegation sent from Rome some 17 centuries ago.

Now the results of scientific tests provided to National Geographic appear to confirm that the remains of a limestone cave enshrined within the church are remnants of the tomb located by the ancient Romans.

Mortar sampled from between the original limestone surface of the tomb and a marble slab that covers it has been dated to around A.D. 345. According to historical accounts, the tomb was discovered by the Romans and enshrined around 326.

Until now, the earliest architectural evidence found in and around the tomb complex dated to the Crusader period, making it no older than 1,000 years.

While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, who according to New Testament accounts was crucified in Jerusalem in 30 or 33, new dating results put the original construction of today’s tomb complex securely in the time of Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor.

The tomb was opened for the first time in centuries in October 2016, when the shrine that encloses the tomb, known as the Edicule, underwent a significant restoration by an interdisciplinary team from the National Technical University of Athens.

Several samples of mortar from different locations within the Edicule were taken at that time for dating, and the results were recently provided to National Geographic by Chief Scientific Supervisor Antonia Moropoulou, who directed the Edicule restoration project.

When Constantine’s representatives arrived in Jerusalem around 325 to locate the tomb, they were allegedly pointed to a Roman temple built some 200 years earlier. The Roman temple was razed and excavations beneath it revealed a tomb hewn from a limestone cave. The top of the cave was sheared off to expose the interior of the tomb, and the Edicule was built around it.

A feature of the tomb is a long shelf, or “burial bed,” which according to tradition was where the body of Jesus Christ was laid out following crucifixion. Such shelves and niches, hewn from limestone caves, are a common feature in tombs of wealthy 1st-century Jerusalem Jews.

The marble cladding that covers the “burial bed” is believed to have been installed in 1555 at the latest, and most likely was present since the mid-1300s, according to pilgrim accounts.

When the tomb was opened on the night of October 26, 2016, scientists were surprised by what they found beneath the marble cladding: an older, broken marble slab incised with a cross, resting directly atop the original limestone surface of the “burial bed.”

Some researchers speculated that this older slab may have been laid down in the Crusader period, while others offered an earlier date, suggesting that it may have already been in place and broken when the church was destroyed in 1009. No one, however, was ready to claim that this might be the first physical evidence for the earliest Roman shrine on the site.

The new test results, which reveal the lower slab was most likely mortared in place in the mid-fourth century under the orders of Emperor Constantine, come as a welcome surprise to those who study the history of the sacred monument.

“Obviously that date is spot-on for whatever Constantine did,” says archaeologist Martin Biddle, who published a seminal study on the history of the tomb in 1999. “That’s very remarkable.”

After Restoration Work, Tomb of Christ Still at Risk of “Catastrophic” Collapse

A conservator cleans the surface of the stone slab venerated as the final resting place of Jesus Christ. (PHOTOGRAPH BY ODED BALILTY, AP FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC) Restoration work at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem reveals one of world’s holiest sites rests on a precarious earthly foundation. (more…)