Scientists have discovered the tomb in which Jesus Christ may have been buried dates back almost 1,700 years.
National Geographic reported that tests carried out on the remains of a limestone cave in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem date back to around 345 CE.
The shrine (sometimes called the Edicule) that holds the tomb of Jesus is seen in this photograph. The shrine is located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Previous evidence had only dated the tomb back 1,000 years, to the Crusader period.
Although it is difficult to tell definitively whether the tomb is the burial site of a Jew identified as Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy Sepulchre Church is largely accepted as the burial site of Christ.
The research, carried out by the National Technical University of Athens, does not offer further evidence as to whether Jesus was actually buried in the tomb, but it is consistent with the historical belief that the ancient Romans constructed a monument at the site around 300 years after his death.
The New Testament says Jesus died either in 30 or 33 CE, but historical accounts suggest the Romans found and enshrined the tomb in 326 CE.
The dating puts the original construction of the tomb in the time of the rule of Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, who began the empire’s transition to Christianity.
Candles placed on top of the tomb after its restoration.
According to tradition, Constantine had the monument to Jesus constructed on what was believed to be his burial site.
A team of scientists has been carrying out restoration work on the site which involved opening and excavating the tomb, which has been sealed for centuries.
The scientists found the remains of a limestone bed that tradition states may have held the body of Jesus.
Using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence, the scientists were able to determine how recently the quartz sediment samples taken from the tomb’s mortar were exposed to light.
The results showed the bed was constructed around 345 AD, around the reign of Constantine.
“Obviously, that date is spot-on for whatever Constantine did,” archaeologist Martin Biddle told National Geographic.
