Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Landscape Under Jerusalem Church

Italian archaeologists excavating beneath Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre have uncovered an ancient landscape that closely matches biblical descriptions of the site where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried. The discovery, made during a multi-year floor restoration project, reveals a first-century quarry, cultivated plots, and rock-cut tombs that align with the Gospel of John's account of a garden and a new tomb near the place of crucifixion. The excavations, led by archaeologist Francesca Romana Stasolla of Rome's Sapienza University, began in 2022 and continued through 2025. Researchers found that the ground beneath the fourth-century basilica was once an abandoned quarry located just outside the city walls of ancient Jerusalem, a position consistent with historical accounts of where executions and burials occurred. Within this quarry landscape, they identified sections filled with soil, evidence of agricultural activity including traces of olive trees and grapevines dating to the first century, and multiple rock-cut tombs. The findings are significant because they mirror details in the New Testament.