The Garden Tomb

The Garden Tomb is a tomb with two chambers cut out of the solid rock, and dates to the early first century. It is in a beautifully laid out garden not far from the Damascus Gate into Jerusalem's Old City. It's location near the ruined foundation of a spacious house coincides with the Gospel accounts of Christ being buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a very wealthy man, who may well have had his tomb carved from the rock face in his own garden.

It was discovered by General Gordon on a visit to Jerusalem in 1883. The Scriptures tell us that Christ was crucified at Golgotha, which means "place of the skull" which accurately describes a skull-shaped hill less than a hundred meters from the site of the tomb.

Both the skull-shaped hill, known as Gordon's Calvary, and the Garden Tomb are outside the limits of the Old City. Even though the present walls do not follow the same line as those of the first century, both hill and tomb still certainly lie outside the first-century wall, as burial places were considered "unclean" and forbidden within the city walls.

Most evangelical Christians believe it to be the true tomb of Christ. If not the true tomb, it is an exact duplicate, perfectly matching the biblical description.

Visit the Garden Tomb at www.gardentomb.com.