Centuries have passed, and now, for the first time scientists have uncovered the original surface of sacred tomb of Jesus Christ, which is located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem.
According to Christianity, the body of Jesus was laid on a shelf carved from the side of a limestone cave after his crucifixion by the Romans in A.D. 30 -33, and after Christ was resurrected, women who came to anoint his body 3 days after the burial, recounted that no remains were present.
The marble covering of the tomb was removed which revealed the surprising quantity of the fill material beneath it, which was being laid since at least 1555, to prevent pilgrims from removing bits of the original rock as souvenirs. The marble cladding was removed on the 26th October night by the team from the National Technical University of Athens and the initial inspection showed only a layer of fillers below, but over the course of next 60 hours, a marble slab with a cross carved on its surface was exposed and finally by the night of 28th October, the original limestone burial bed was revealed to be intact.
Researchers also confirmed the existence of the original limestone cave within the 18th -century shrine, which encloses the tomb. A window has been cut into the southern interior wall of the shrine to expose one of the cave walls.
Stay tuned for more updates on the analysis of the tomb.
Source: BBC
By: Archa Dave
