Archaeologists are uncovering new evidence of 2000-year-old agricultural activity beneath one of Christianity’s holiest sites, which experts say align with descriptions in the Gospel of John long associated with the tomb of Jesus.
The new discoveries, which include evidence of olive trees, grape vines, and other features associated with an ancient garden, were made during a sweeping restoration and archaeological excavation project beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and are now offering deeper insights into Jerusalem’s layered history.
Traditionally associated with the site of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection according to Christian beliefs, the recent excavations were led by Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla of Sapienza University of Rome and are yielding new insights into the city’s history spanning back to the Iron Age.
Echoes of the Gospels: The Tomb of Jesus?
Archaeobotanical and pollen analysis of soil samples collected from areas beneath the ancient church have produced evidence of olive trees which once grew at the site, as well as materials indicating grapevines which also grew here by around the first century CE.
The discoveries provide archaeological evidence that appear to align with a passage from the Gospel of John, which describes a garden near the site of the crucifixion.
“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden,” reads the passage in question as it appears in the 21st Century King James Version, “and in the garden a new sepulcher wherein was never man yet laid.”
Currently, botanical materials collected at the excavation site have not yet been radiocarbon dated. However, the stratigraphic context in which the samples were found seems to point firmly to the pre-Christian era.
“We know that the area was already part of the city at the time of Emperor Hadrian,” Stasolla recently told The Times of Israel. The Roman city of Aelia Capitolina was founded in the second century CE, although Stasolla notes that at the time Jesus lived, “the area was not part of the city yet.”
A Carefully Coordinated Excavation
The current excavations are the result of a 2019 agreement among three Christian communities that presently co-manage the church—the Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land, and the Armenian Patriarchate. As part of the agreement, plans to fully replace the ancient church’s floor are underway, marking the first significant restoration at the location since the nineteenth century.
The Israel Antiquities Authority has also granted authorization to archaeologists like Stasolla to conduct digs beneath the basilica within carefully planned, non-contiguous zones that allow visitors to continue visiting throughout the excavations.
“We’re working in very small, carefully defined areas to respect the flow of religious activity,” Stasolla told the Times. “Think of it like excavating one piece of a puzzle at a time—we’ll later assemble everything digitally to visualize the full picture.”
Although the site’s excavations are temporarily on hold for the duration of the Easter holiday, the work will soon resume, and includes close to a dozen Italian archaeologists who work in rotational shifts, while additional research efforts based in Rome support the on-site archaeological work from afar.
Buried Histories, Layers of Faith
Much of the site’s emerging archaeological record provides a glimpse at the long and complex history associated with the holy site. Directly beneath the church lies the remnants of an ancient quarry dating back to the Iron Age. Additionally, signs of agricultural activity exist from prior to the period in which the church was built.
“We identified low stone walls filled with dirt—consistent with cultivated plots,” Stasolla explained. “That’s where we found the pollen and botanical traces, which tie so strongly to the Gospel account.”
At one time in the site’s deeper history, long before Constantine the Great constructed the original church sometime in the 4th Century CE, the area also served as a burial ground. Evidence of ancient tombs hewn from the original quarry stone exist today, and according to tradition, Constantine had identified one of these as the tomb of Jesus, ordering to have it isolated and preserved.
Now, Stasolla and her team believe they may have partially uncovered evidence of this 4th century effort to create a monument of the tomb believed to have been used to house the body of Jesus.
“Beneath the current aedicule, we found a circular marble base,” said Stasolla. “This matches early depictions of the tomb from the 5th and 6th centuries, which describe it as circular.”
“It’s likely part of Constantine’s original structure,” Stasolla said.
Everyday Life in a Sacred Space
In addition to evidence of Constantine’s monument to the tomb of Jesus, Stasolla and her team have also uncovered a range of different artifacts that include pottery fragments, oil lamps, and a hoard of Roman coins that date from the reign of Constantius II through to Emperor Valens.
Animal bones recovered from the site also provide evidence of meals prepared at the site spanning several centuries, during which time successive generations of clergy served, and countless pilgrims visited the famous holy site.
“We also identified snail shells from a species still eaten today, one that spread across the Mediterranean after the Crusades,” said Stasolla. These dietary traces offer an unexpected window into the daily lives of worshippers at the site through the ages.
The Limits of Archaeology
While the team’s findings offer a glimpse at the deep history of one of Jerusalem’s most famous holy sites, and potentially even match accounts found in the Gospels, Stasolla stresses that archaeology cannot confirm matters of faith.
“Whether Jesus was buried here is not something archaeology can answer,” Stasolla told the Times. “But the fact that generations of people believed it—and shaped this place around that belief—is undeniable.”
Unveiling the history of an ancient city and its people, the excavation offers more than just archaeological interpretations of a sacred site—it provides a deeper look at expressions of faith that have remained preserved for centuries in stone, soil, and evidence of ritual.
“The real treasure we are revealing is the history of the people who made this site what it is by expressing their faith here,” Stasolla said of her team’s discoveries.
“Whether someone believes or not in the historicity of the Holy Sepulchre, the history of this place is the history of Jerusalem,” she said.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.