No one alive today has laid eyes on what has long been believed to be the final resting place of Jesus, yet the need to repair and reinforce the structure protecting it necessitated the momentous revealing. National Geographic was on the scene to reveal this wonder to the world.
The exposure of the burial bed is giving researchers an unprecedented opportunity to study the original surface of what is considered the most sacred site in Christianity. An analysis of the original rock may enable them to better understand not only the original form of the tomb chamber, but also how it evolved as the focal point of veneration since it was first identified by Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, in A.D. 326.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre where it lay is under the joint control of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Armenian Orthodox Church, as well as the Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Syriac communities.
Ready for the big reveal?
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