November 2022 | Church of the Holy Sepulchre excavation unveils remains from Constantine‘s time

Remains of the building from the time of Roman Emperor Constantine at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the finds unearthed during excavations at the Christian holy site, which have been underway since March 2022 as part of a complex two-year restoration and restoration project of Paving Stones old church.

The findings were presented to leaders of the church's Christian community on July 11 during a tour of the excavation site. Beatrice Brancazi and Stefano De Togni, members of the archaeological team at the Department of Antiquities of the University of Rome I, carried out the work under the direction of Prof. Francesca Romana Stasolla, assisted by Prof. Giorgia Maria Annoscia and Prof. Massimiliano David.

Layers of rock from a quarry used to build the church during the time of Constantine the Great have been discovered, researchers say.

Excavating the site of the cobblestone restoration work, archaeologists began excavating the cathedral's north nave, also known as the Arch of the Virgin Mary, and part of the northwest rotunda in May. This work will be done around the clock and will not interfere with the church's daily operations. It is the first time that such a systematic excavation of the church has been carried out.

Archaeologists said they also found evidence of a trench dug in the 1960s by Virginio Corbo, an Italian Franciscan monk and professor of archeology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.

News reports noted that the fault rock formations consisted of "deep and uneven cuts" at different heights.

"The main requirement of the Constantinian site project was to bridge this height difference in order to create a unified and homogeneous plan for the structure of the church and its outbuildings," Romana Stasola said in a press release.

Gradual soil layers rich in ceramic material that allow drainage were used to level the area, she said.

They were also able to analyze the construction method of the foundations of the northern walls of the Constantinian complex and uncovered mosaic tiles believed to be from floor coverings, she said.

To the northwest of the rotunda, archaeologists continued to dig a tunnel near the church, traditionally believed by Christians to be the tomb of Jesus, which had been discovered during the first phase of restoration work on the church. The tunnel descends 2.8 m vertically. The account states that next to the aedicula, it then extends horizontally to the north.

"Their findings on the stratigraphy of the excavation and its connection to the overall drainage system are an important aspect of the architectural element study and will be analyzed as part of the project," the report states.

Material uncovered during the excavation will be processed in real-time between Jerusalem and Rome, and data processed during the excavation will be entered into a database created for the project that is remotely linked to various historical and archival sources, with the support of members of the Rome team, the report said. .

The second phase of the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre took place in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Armenian Patriarchate under the direction of the Franciscan Custodians of the Holy Land, the three historic ecclesiastical guardians whose 1852 Status Agreement strengthened the church and Territorial separation between Christian communities in other Christian holy places.

Professor Giorgo Piras, head of the Department of Ancient Sciences at the First University of Rome, told the Jerusalem Post when the latest restoration and excavation work began in March that most of the remains found could be covered up depending on the status quo.