Archaeologists working at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem have made some pretty exciting discoveries that might just bring a bit of the Bible to life. The church, widely believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and burial, is revealing evidence of an ancient garden that could back up a specific detail from the Gospel of John.
Led by Professor Francesca Stasolla from Sapienza University of Rome, the excavation team has uncovered some pretty old artifacts — preserved seeds and pollen from grapevines and olive trees. These findings, which are around 2,000 years old, align with what’s mentioned in the Bible. The Gospel of John (19:41) speaks about a garden near where Jesus was crucified, and now, these discoveries might offer a glimpse into what that garden looked like.
“Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb…”
It’s interesting how the land under the church has shifted over the years. Calvary, the hill where the church stands today, was once a stone quarry. As the quarry fell out of use, the area seems to have been repurposed for farming, and later, it became a burial site — which makes sense considering what we know about Jerusalem in the 1st century.
Stasolla puts it this way: “This area went from being used for quarrying to becoming farmland and eventually a place for burials. What we’re finding fits right in with what we know about the landscape in Jesus’s time.”
This excavation is part of a larger restoration effort — the first of its kind in almost 200 years. The team has also uncovered all sorts of items from the past, like pottery, glass, and metal objects, some dating as far back as the Iron Age. These finds show that this site has been significant for a very long time, particularly as a place of pilgrimage since the 4th century.
“We’re not just seeing early Christian history here; we’re going back way further,” said Stasolla. “This area has always been important in terms of culture and religion, and now we have the evidence to back that up.”
The restoration project is still ongoing, focusing on different sections of the church shared by Christian denominations. The goal is to understand how this spot evolved — from a quarry to farmland to what it is today: one of the holiest places in Christianity.
The church was originally built in 326 A.D. by Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. Over time, it’s been rebuilt and renovated. The original church was destroyed in 1009 A.D. by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, but the Crusaders rebuilt it in the 11th century. The church we see now still has much of that Crusader reconstruction.
Stasolla explains, “The church’s architecture is a mix of so many different time periods — from Constantine’s original design to the Crusader rebuilds, and even modern conservation work.”
Although the garden discovery doesn’t give us solid proof of the Gospel of John’s story, it’s still an intriguing find.
“Archaeology doesn’t aim to prove religious texts, but it does help us understand the context of those stories,” Stasolla said. “What we’ve uncovered here fits with what the Gospel suggests — a transition from quarry land to cultivated gardens, and eventually to a sacred space.”
And this is just the start. There’s more work to be done, and researchers are hopeful they’ll continue to find even more clues about the site’s long history. “We’ve just begun to scratch the surface,” Stasolla said. “The layers of history here are deep, and we’re excited to keep digging.”
