Garden mentioned in John’s gospel discovered

An archaeological dig on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has apparently confirmed details recorded within the Gospel of John, namely, the presence of a garden within the place where Jesus was crucified and buried.

John 19:41 states (KJV), “Now within the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and within the garden a latest sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.”

The current project began in 2022 after the Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church, who’re accountable for the location, finally agreed to start renovations on the nineteenth century church floor.

Archaeobotanical and pollen evaluation on samples retrieved from the dig suggest that olive trees and grapevines grew on the location around 2,000 years ago.

Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla, who’s leading the project, told the Times of Israel, “The archaeobotanical findings have been especially interesting for us, in light of what’s mentioned within the Gospel of John, whose information is taken into account written or collected by someone aware of Jerusalem on the time.

“The Gospel mentions a green area between the Calvary and the tomb, and we identified these cultivated fields.”

As well as apparently confirming parts of John’s Gospel account, the dig has also unearthed later artefacts which make clear the church positioned on Jesus’ tomb throughout its long history.

Parts of what would be the first iteration of the church built by the Emperor Constantine within the 4th century have been discovered. A hoard of coins dating from around the identical time has also been found.

Moving on to the Middle Ages, an enormous pile of animal and fish bones has been found. They are believed to be the stays of animals eaten by pilgrims and priests throughout the days of the crusades.

Excavations have been paused to permit Easter events but are set to proceed after Holy Week.