The Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The traditional sites of both Jesus’ crucifixion and burial are located in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here is the entrance on the left (taken looking south, I think), and to the right is a rough picture of its dome taken from the Mt. of Olives (to the east).

Within this church, to the right and up the steps is Golgotha, the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion. While it is within the city walls today, archaeology has shown that it was outside the walls at the time of Jesus. In the end, it seems the most plausible location for the crucifixion. To the right is a picture of a crack in the rock below on the first floor, taken to be the result of the earthquake mentioned in the gospels:

I don’t have a good picture of the monument of the traditional site of Jesus’ burial. If this site is correct, then the surrounding rock has been removed. As you come down from Golgotha to the place where you entered the church, you go left this time and then slightly to your right. There you will find this structure (left picture). To the right is a picture from inside the crypt, not a very good one because of cramped quarters:

However, the original tomb probably looked a lot more like this tomb:

Wilbur suggested that this may have been a tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

I know that another site has been suggested as more likely than the traditional site. I don’t know if it is this tomb. I had thought maybe it was in a lower level, in the Armenian quarter. I’ll update this page when I figure it out.