Holy Sepulchre, Christian burial site in Old City, Jerusalem
The Holy Sepulchre is the tomb chamber inside the edicule of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. The edicule measures 8.25 m long, 5 m wide and 5 m high, with sixteen pilasters on its walls and a small onion dome. Inside, a marble slab covers the rock bench where Jesus' body is said to have lain.
In 325, at the request of Bishop Macarius, Emperor Constantine sent the architect Zenobius to level the rock and reveal the tomb, and the Anastasis was consecrated on 13 September 335. The basilica was destroyed by Caliph al-Hakim in 1009 and rebuilt by 1048 under Constantine IX Monomachus. The rotunda burned in 1808, and Nikolaos Komnenos rebuilt the edicule's exterior between 1809 and 1810.
The chamber draws pilgrims from around the world who come to pray and light candles within the enclosed space. Six Christian denominations share custody of the site and conduct liturgies at designated times throughout the day.
Visitors must stoop through a low doorway to enter the narrow chamber, which holds only a few people at once. Long waits are common during religious holidays and in the morning hours.
Restoration work in 2016 exposed layers of stone and mortar reaching back to the fourth century. Researchers carefully removed the marble cladding to examine the limestone bench underneath before resealing it.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,627 contributors worldwide.