More excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE: Round-the-clock excavations at Church of Holy Sepulchre yield historical treasures. Continued work on a two-year, $11 million cooperative restoration project reveals fascinating details from centuries of patchwork building at one of Christianity’s holiest sites (MELANIE LIDMAN, Times of Israel).

The most recent excavation revealed more information about the early Christian layout of the Edicule, parts of which date to the 4th century. Under one of the floor slabs, archaeologists discovered a coin hoard that included coins minted up until the time of Roman Emperor Valens (364-378).

Other interesting discoveries include a fragment of wall cladding, or the exterior of the wall, from the main Edicule, covered with graffiti from the 18th century in various languages, including Greek, Latin and Armenian.

For some PaleoJudaica posts on the recent renovations and excavations in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holy Sepulcher), see here, here, here, here, here, and here. And follow the many links for much more on the Church.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.