Some Easter Archaeology

Kia ora,

This Easter I decided to have a go at writing an Easter-themed archaeology blog post. While Easter and archaeology aren't the most obvious pairing, after considering a few other possible topics (such as chocolate, eggs and/or rabbits), I decided to write a bit about the associated archaeology of a few of the places in Jerusalem that tradition identifies as the locations of events in the Easter narrative. I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit all of the places I talk about in person and all the photos that I have used are my own. If you are interested and haven't already seen it, I've previously written a post on this blog about my main reason for being over in that part of the world. 

The traditional locations that I will discuss in this blog post are those of the "upper room" that was the venue for the Last Supper (Mark 14:15); Gethsemane, where Jesus went with his disciples after the Last Supper to pray and was arrested (Mark 14:32-50); and Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:22-25), and the nearby tomb that his body was placed inside (Luke 19:41-42).

It is worth noting here that it is not my intention to provide a comprehensive account of the archaeology of these places. Linked sources go into additional detail for those that want it. That said, I would like this blog to be regarded as an accurate source of information and as always I welcome feedback from readers if any errors are spotted. 

The Cenacle 

The Cenacle on Mt Zion, Jerusalem. This is the traditional location of the Last Supper. 

A carved column capital in the Cenacle showing two young pelicans feeding on the blood their mother has drawn from her breast - symbolising Jesus Christ giving his blood for the salvation of humankind.

The Cenacle is the upper storey of a two-storey building located on what is today known as Mt Zion, to the southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem. While it is located outside of the present Old City walls, which were built in the sixteenth century (all centuries referred to in this post are CE/AD), at the time of Jesus the area would have been inside the city walls (what seems to be a pretty accurate map showing the city walls now and then and all the locations discussed in this post can be found here). According to tradition, the lower story of this building is the location of the Tomb of King David, while the upper storey (the Cenacle) was the location of the "upper room" that the Gospel of Mark (14:15) tells us was the venue for the Last Supper - Jesus' final meal before his crucifixion.

The traditional placement of the Tomb of King David at this location appears to have been a result of the mistaken identification of today's Mt Zion as the stronghold of Zion/City of David that is referred to in the Old Testament (e.g. 2 Samuel 5:7), where David is said to have been buried (1 Kings 2:10). Archaeological excavations starting in the nineteenth century place the City of David elsewhere (no tomb yet though!). 

The building that stands on the site today largely dates to the twelfth century, for most of which Jerusalem was part of a Crusader state known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, but the building does incorporate the partial remains of an earlier structure or structures. How much earlier? This remains the subject of scholarly debate (re: this link - although the David Clausen column in Biblical Archaeology Review is behind a paywall, an outline of Clausen's argument is freely accessible to read here). Estimates of the age of the earliest parts of the building range from the first century to the late fourth century, the early Byzantine period, when Jerusalem had become an overwhelmingly Christian city after Christianity was made a lawful religion in the Roman Empire. No thorough archaeological examination of the building has been undertaken.

Gethsemane

Looking south-east from near Jerusalem's Lion's Gate towards the Church of All Nations and neighbouring olive tree garden, the traditional site of Gethsemane, with the Mount of Olives in the background. The distinctive gilded onion-shaped domes further up the Mount are part of the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene.

The olive tree garden at the traditional site of Gethsemane.

The facade of the Church of All Nations at the traditional site of Gethsemane. 

In front of the 'Rock of Agony', where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest, in the Church of All Nations.

At the foot of the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem's Old City is an olive tree garden that has been identified by tradition as the site of Gethsemane (from the Aramaic term 'gath shemanim', meaning “oil press”) where Jesus went with his disciples after the Last Supper to pray and where he was arrested (Mark 14:32-50). The olive tree garden is next to the Church of All Nations (also known as the Basilica of the Agony), built over the rock on which Jesus is said to have prayed in agony prior to his arrest. The present church, completed and consecrated in 1924, is the third church to have been built on the site. The earliest church on the site was constructed in the fourth century - parts of the mosaic floor of this original Byzantine church were uncovered during construction of the present church. 

Dating the Gethsemane olive trees

Given that olive trees can live for hundreds of years, it has fancifully been suggested by some (including no doubt a fair few local tour guides over the years!) that some of the oldest trees in the garden may have even been the same trees that stood as silent witnesses to the arrest of Jesus almost 2000 years ago. Even if one accepts the authenticity of the site this is almost certainly not true! For starters, the historian Flavius Josephus tells us that all the trees around Jerusalem were cut down by the Romans for their siege equipment before they captured the city in 70 CE. 

In an analysis published in the Journal of Archaeological Science in 2015, researchers estimated that three of the apparently oldest olive trees in the garden were 800-900 years old, starting life in the twelfth century. This estimate was based on a combination of radiocarbon dating and, because the stems of the trees were hollow in the middle of the trunk, estimation of the missing growth rings from the resulting cavity. As noted in the paper, this date estimate coincides with the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem period. As hinted at in the discussion of the Cenacle above, during this period the Crusaders were very much committed to the restoration of Christian memories in the Holy Land. This commitment included the rebuilding of the Basilica of the Agony, previously destroyed in an eighth century earthquake, and, feasibly, the planting of olive trees nearby. 

It has been suggested that the root material of some of the Gethsemane trees could be much older. After all, olive trees can grow back from the roots after being cut down. While researching for this blog, I did find mention in a 1977 issue of the research journal Biblical Archaeologist of a radiocarbon date of "2300 years old" obtained "at the University of California some years ago" on root material taken from a Gethsemane olive tree killed by overzealous souvenir hunters lopping off too many branches after the First World War (see 'News from the Field', Biblical Archaeologist, Vol 40, No. 2 (May 1977), p. 50). As I have yet to find any further details about this determination (no error range is provided!), I am not in a position to even attempt to provide any critical evaluation and would certainly recommend caution before accepting this at face value, especially considering the potential pitfalls of the radiocarbon dating method.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, enclosing the traditional site of Golgotha, where Jesus Christ was crucified, and the nearby tomb (sepulchre) that his body was placed inside.

The roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the two large domes at centre) from the bell tower of the nearby Church of the Redeemer (photo taken facing northwest).

The Edicule: a shrine within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that encloses the remains of the cave venerated as the tomb of Jesus Christ. This version of the edicule was built in the nineteenth century, but stands on the remnants of earlier structural foundations.

The most important site to Christianity in Jerusalem is, of course, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which encloses what has been venerated since at least the fourth century as Golgotha, the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion (Mark 15:22-25) and the nearby tomb (sepulchre) that his body was placed inside (Luke 19:41-42). The original church was constructed in the fourth century at the order of the Roman Emperor Constantine I, at the location identified by his mother Helena. The church has since been largely destroyed and rebuilt twice, once in 614 CE following the capture of Jerusalem by the Sasanian (or Sasanid) Persians and again in 1009 CE at the order of the Fatamid Caliph Al-Hakim, and damaged and repaired on multiple other occasions. Most of the structure of the present day Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a testimony to the eleventh and twelfth century reconstruction programs (including significant alterations by the Crusaders) that followed its destruction in 1009 CE (Galor 2017: 132). 

The original Church of the Holy Sepulchre was a larger complex than the one that survives today. This is evidenced by extant archaeological remains below a nearby church. Nineteenth century excavations on the site now occupied by the Russian Orthodox Church of St Alexander Nevsky revealed some impressive Roman and Byzantine period archaeological remains, including traces of a wide stairway that would have led up to the eastern entrance of Constantine's fourth century church. 

Entrance to the Church of St Alexander Nevsky.

Stonework from an second century CE archway in the basement of the Church of St Alexander Nevsky.

Reconstruction of a wide stairway that led up to the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was much bigger than the present church, located in what is now the basement of the Church of St Alexander Nevsky.

Nineteenth century excavations on another nearby site, now occupied by the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, revealed part of a wall that was identified at the time as part of the city walls at the time of Jesus, thereby apparently confirming that the location of Golgotha identified by Helena was outside of the city walls at the time of the crucifixion (Golgotha would had to have been located outside the city in accordance with Jewish and Roman customs at the time). German Protestant Institute of Archaeology (GPIA) excavations in the 1970s showed that not only was this wall far too narrow to be a city wall (it was only five feet - about one and a half metres - thick!), it was far too young - likely dating to the fourth century (Serr & Vieweger 2016). According to the information panels at the church, the wall has since been interpreted as the outer boundary of a forum (market place) south of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The GPIA excavations did, however, add to an accumulating body of other evidence supporting the authenticity of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre site (Serr & Vieweger 2016). This evidence includes the presence of typical late Hellenistic and early Roman tombs, including the Holy Sepulchre itself, that suggest that the area remained outside the city walls until around the time of Jesus (Bahat 1986; Galor 2017: 135; Romey 2016).

The Church of the Redeemer.

Part of the wall mistakenly identified in the nineteenth century as the city wall of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, located in what is now the basement of the Church of the Redeemer.

Former Jerusalem District archaeologist, Dan Bahat, has noted "We may not be absolutely certain that the site of the Holy Sepulchre Church is the site of Jesus' burial, but we certainly have no other site that can lay a claim nearly as weighty, and we really have no reason to reject the authenticity of the site." 

Absolute certainty, it seems, is a matter of faith! 

Thanks for reading!

Nick

P.S. The often overlooked Church of the Redeemer and the Church of St Alexander Nevsky are both worth a visit if you do get to Jerusalem's Old City. You get a worthwhile panoramic view of the Old City from the top of the Church of the Redeemer bell tower!