10 ms·

Tomb venerated as burial place of Christ exposed for first time in centuries

57 points by hbcondo714 10y ago

kixpanganiban 10y ago
That's Angels and Demons feels right there. Almost expecting Tom Hanks to show up.
13of40 10y ago
Something about that picture reminds me of VGER from Star Trek. But seriously, it should be an interesting read once they've fully studied it.
andrewflnr 10y ago
When I saw the title, I thought maybe they'd found actual evidence about where Jesus was buried. No, it's the traditional birthplace, identified as such in AD 329, apparently. Edit: find->found
- exclusiv 10y ago
  Can you clarify? The article is pretty clear about it being the known tomb. They exposed the marble surface.
  - robbrown451 10y ago
    The article may be clear, but the title is not.
    - wyclif 10y ago
      Haven't you guys been to Sunday School? [insert Indiana Jones meme here]
  - vidarh 10y ago
    The point is that the title calls it Christ's burial place, but there's no evidence that it is that.
  - azernik 10y ago
    What is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was actually designated as such only in around 325/6. At the time there was a temple of Aphrodite on the site; Emperor Constantine ordered it replaced by a church, and when his mother Helena went to visit the site, she claimed to have discovered the True Cross and proclaimed it to be the spot of Jesus's burial. Aside from that rather questionable and politically/religiously convenient claim, there's no other evidence for the site having anything to do with the historical Jesus.
- Hondor 10y ago
  Yes. Not his actual tomb at all. It's like opening an old room in an old church. Not really as amazing as the title sounds.
- imaginenore 10y ago
  There's very little of the evidence he existed at all. No contemporary historian mentions him.
  - tjic 10y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus#Events_generally_accepted_as_historical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus#Events_ge...
    - danieltillett 10y ago
      Josephus was not contemporary of Jesus. There is also the slight problem that the passages about Jesus in Josephus look to be later Christian interpolations [1]. 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
      - azernik 10y ago
        From that article: "Modern scholarship has largely acknowledged the authenticity of the reference in Book 20, Chapter 9, 1 of the Antiquities to "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James"[13] and considers it as having the highest level of authenticity among the references of Josephus to Christianity.[14][1][2][15][16][17] Almost all modern scholars consider the reference in Book 18, Chapter 5, 2 of the Antiquities to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist also to be authentic and not a Christian interpolation.[18][19][20]" Among historians and biblical scholars, there's very little question that a person called Jesus from the Galilee was executed by the Romans for treason of some sort or other. Aside from name, place of origin, and death, however, everything else is very hazy.
        danieltillett 10y ago
        Jesus was a very common name at the time and Josephus mention at least 4 other Jesus's. I do agree that everything about the historicity of Jesus is very hazy.
antognini 10y ago
I had the privilege of visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after attending an astronomy conference in Israel a year ago. My wife and I got there for a mass just a little before 6am so it wasn't very crowded. It was really an extraordinary experience. The Edicule had something of a steampunk feel to it, which I was not expecting. As the article mentions, it was built in the 1800s, but due to the Status Quo agreement, it has not been maintained at all and it looked like it could collapse at any moment. The whole mass felt very surreal. As it was being celebrated there was simultaneously an Armenian liturgy and Greek Orthodox liturgy being celebrated on other sides of the Edicule. If you've ever been to one of those liturgies, you know that there's an almost constant drone of chant throughout. At times it was hard to hear the priest in front of us! I'm still not sure whether to interpret the experience as being a wonderful illustration of the unity or the disunity of the Christian Church.
- virtualwhys 10y ago
  Spent the winter in Israel a couple of years ago. The old city in Jerusalem is awe inspiring. As for the Holy Sepulchre, as a non-Christian I found it pretty surreal. Clearly for the faithful it's a big deal, saw people outright crying coming out of the Sepulchre. The church itself is beautiful, powerful artwork from all of the sects (Ethiopian included). Particularly the fresco at the entrance, Christ being laid to rest, the disciples in tears, pretty moving piece. Unfortunately my experience was darkened by a group of troublemaker teenagers; saw them shove an old woman deep in prayer, just appalling. On leaving they followed me and one of them spit in my hair. When I turned around the kid said, "only water, only water". Needless to say Jerusalem's a complex mix of cultures, history, and religions.
  - ralfd 10y ago
    > On leaving they followed me and one of them spit in my hair Wtf?
  - alsetmusic 10y ago
    > saw people outright crying coming out of the Sepulchre This sort of reaction is deeply troubling to me because I see it as evidence of the overwhelming grip that religions have on (some of) their followers. It reminds me of videos of teenagers crying at the sight of Michael Jackson or the Beatles at live performances. It is unnecessary. My mother, for example, is unable to laugh at even the most trivial of jokes about her religion, things that aren't even attacking her religion but simply having fun with a play on words. I am constantly seeking to remind her that it is a lack of lightheartedness that is at the rock of extremism. I encourage her involvement at her church for social reasons while attempting to remind her that anything that can't be laughed about is being taken too seriously (this is the foundation for many unnecessary wars and acts of violence or discrimination). I know the likelihood that I'll ever succeed is small, but it's important to me to wake people from what I consider to be a way of thinking that impairs sound judgement (say, when voting or choosing how to react to world politics). I'm not against religion or the right to practice religion, just its ability to cause hysteria.
vacri 10y ago
It's surprising that they've done this, given the Immovable Ladder's example of just how difficult it is to alter anything in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immovable_Ladder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immovable_Ladder
- seren 10y ago
  This is the first time I have heard about that story. This is so strange and unbelievable, and yet very familiar. It sounds like something out of Swift between the Big Endians and the Little Endians. Thanks for bringing it up.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  Nothing some termites or woodworms can't fix, and it will at least lay to rest one more religious conflict. From your link: "The primary conflicts, however, surrounding the ladder and its immovability have been disputed by a lasting conflict between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church." Surely such insect activity could be interpreted as 'an act of God' and then all parties could get on with their lives.
throwAway48 10y ago
You must be really proud to support an occupying/terrorist/religious state!
- dang 10y ago
  We've banned this account because comments like this aren't allowed on HN and people aren't allowed to create accounts just to post them. Personal attack plus inflammatory rhetoric is the sort of dynamite we need to avoid if we're to have civil, substantive discussion. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12813739 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12813739 and marked it off-topic.
  - throwAway48 10y ago
    @dang: Predictable reaction This was not a personal attack in any way or form. It is a statement of the fact that supporting an apartheid state is not OK!
YeGoblynQueenne 10y ago
I've been to the tomb, once, when I was 13 ish. I remember an Orthodox priest inside the chamber, who was taking donations in exchange for candlesticks and talismans etc. I also remember him telling my father to leave the money on the tomb, next to his goods. My father, who is no more a Christian than I am was absolutely disgusted at that.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  Par for the course. Quote George Carlin: 'Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible ... all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise being that somehow just can't handle money!, Always needs a little more.'
  - wodencafe 10y ago
    George's "Religion is Bullshit" bit was his absolute best, and my personal favorite.
- bitL 10y ago
  My experience was different while in Jerusalem - Christian churches were free to visit, synagogues required you to "donate" and mosques were immediately kicking you out.
british_india 10y ago
I call complete bullshit. From having watched shows like NCS, we know the amount of direct evidence it takes to establish something like who was buried somewhere. Like the shroud of Turin this is just another example of wishful thinking. They found some random tomb that has survived and announced that it was the tomb of this fictional character Christ. No chain of custody for evidence, just the wishful thinking of somebody who wants it to be true, just like the entire resurrection theory. Complete and total hogwash. If we were to say this is the burial site of Joseph the plumber, the proponents of this idea would have no evidence to argue otherwise.
- gadders 10y ago
  I'm an atheist, but I don't think Jesus was a fictional character.
  - imaginenore 10y ago
    Why? What evidence is there?
    - Cthulhu_ 10y ago
      I wonder if it actually matters if he was real or not, or whether he did what the major religions claim he did. What matters is that billions of people believe it, and he's an example to billions of people, giving them a moral example to strive towards. You know, like superheroes in the US. They don't exist (which is factually verifiable still), but people are fans of them. What if in 2000 years people forget or lose the origins but the story of e.g. Star Wars is passed on through the ages? It's not proven to be real, but it provides a moral example, a distinction of good vs evil, and a code to live by.
      - qbrass 10y ago
        Now repeat the history of religious wars except now you know everyone's killing each other over movie preferences.
    - 10y ago
ohthehugemanate 10y ago
I always find stories like this fascinating. We're talking about a place where a mythical event was supposed to occur. It's like analyzing the place where Promethius first brought fire, or the spot where Osiris was resurrected. Maybe interesting for anthropology, but by no means the 'hard science' implied by the tone and presentation of the article. Of course they're OUR myths, so it's important that we describe them with serious sounding words, and pretend that they're a valid spur for hard scientific research. There isn't any evidence, outside of mythology, that this place or slab of marble has anything special to reveal about our universe. Just because you're looking through a scientific tool, does not change the fact that what you're looking at is mythology. You're just looking at a communion wafer through a microscope. Still, it's fascinating to me that we present it in the same tone and context that we present LHC results.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  > You're just looking at a communion wafer through a microscope. Well, I hope people are actually doing that. I think people believing in some phenomenon should aways encourage scientific inquiry into it.
- etse 10y ago
  It's fascinating to me that your strong belief (ie faith) that this is a myth should cause you to not be truth-seeking and thoughtful. I also can't see how the article's tone is "hard science". It uses words like "venerated", "Christian tradition", "sacred", and "cultural heritage" so I don't read presuppositions in it, and I don't recall seeing a hypothesis posed. One of the main points of the article was that there are a lot of people and representatives of faith involved, and if the result of "hard science" research is "peace and mutual respect" (as the article quoted), then I would take that over LHC results every time.
salimmadjd 10y ago
Article is misleading. "Restorers working in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel uncover stone slab venerated as the resting place of Jesus Christ" But it looks like the church is actually in the Palestinian lands [1]. Is there political motivation here? [1] https://www.google.com/maps/@31.7724981,35.2362521,15z https://www.google.com/maps/@31.7724981,35.2362521,15z
- Illniyar 10y ago
  The old city is technically part of the area taken in the 67 war, which is the areas which are usually talked about when refereing to palastine. But unlike the west bank, it was formally annexed by israel, it contains jewish holy sites such as the west wall, it is not currently part of the PA and I doubt anyone is seriously expecting it to be part of a future palastinian state (in a two state solution at least).
  - salimmadjd 10y ago
    Thanks for clarifying
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
  Yes, of course, Palestine doesn't officially exist as a state, according to, well, most of the 'west'[1]. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_the_State_of_Palestine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_t...
d3ckard 10y ago
It will be really inconvenient if they find a body in there...
rolal 10y ago
A lot of the National Geographic societys work these days seems to have a strong appeal to religous people. They are owned by the FOX corporation and I wonder if this religious market is something that FOX is pushing them to focus on.
- kesselvon 10y ago
  They're just going where the money is. Selling NatGeo felt a bit like a betrayal, since NewsCorp is going to run it into the ground.
- wyclif 10y ago
  One story about archaeology, including the science thereof, in an ancient church isn't going to be a deal-breaker even for people who are fair-minded atheists.
rurban 10y ago
They should have really mentioned the real most likely burial place of the historical Jesus, which was found some decades ago by the archeaologist James Tabor, the Talpiot Tomb. The same guy also found the tomb of Jesus' family before. This tomb was opened in 2005 for some short time, but there's a new jewish apartment building on top of it, so they rather go with the Church of Holy Sepulcher fairy tale. Not many scientists but many Christians believe that Jesus actually lay in this Church of Holy Sepulcher for 3 days.

57 points by hbcondo714 10y ago

That's Angels and Demons feels right there. Almost expecting Tom Hanks to show up.

Something about that picture reminds me of VGER from Star Trek. But seriously, it should be an interesting read once they've fully studied it.

andrewflnr 10y ago

When I saw the title, I thought maybe they'd found actual evidence about where Jesus was buried. No, it's the traditional birthplace, identified as such in AD 329, apparently. Edit: find->found

exclusiv 10y ago
Can you clarify? The article is pretty clear about it being the known tomb. They exposed the marble surface.
- robbrown451 10y ago
  The article may be clear, but the title is not.
  - wyclif 10y ago
    Haven't you guys been to Sunday School? [insert Indiana Jones meme here]
- vidarh 10y ago
  The point is that the title calls it Christ's burial place, but there's no evidence that it is that.
- azernik 10y ago
  What is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was actually designated as such only in around 325/6. At the time there was a temple of Aphrodite on the site; Emperor Constantine ordered it replaced by a church, and when his mother Helena went to visit the site, she claimed to have discovered the True Cross and proclaimed it to be the spot of Jesus's burial. Aside from that rather questionable and politically/religiously convenient claim, there's no other evidence for the site having anything to do with the historical Jesus.
Hondor 10y ago
Yes. Not his actual tomb at all. It's like opening an old room in an old church. Not really as amazing as the title sounds.
imaginenore 10y ago
There's very little of the evidence he existed at all. No contemporary historian mentions him.
- tjic 10y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus#Events_generally_accepted_as_historical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus#Events_ge...
  - danieltillett 10y ago
    Josephus was not contemporary of Jesus. There is also the slight problem that the passages about Jesus in Josephus look to be later Christian interpolations [1]. 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
    - azernik 10y ago
      From that article: "Modern scholarship has largely acknowledged the authenticity of the reference in Book 20, Chapter 9, 1 of the Antiquities to "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James"[13] and considers it as having the highest level of authenticity among the references of Josephus to Christianity.[14][1][2][15][16][17] Almost all modern scholars consider the reference in Book 18, Chapter 5, 2 of the Antiquities to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist also to be authentic and not a Christian interpolation.[18][19][20]" Among historians and biblical scholars, there's very little question that a person called Jesus from the Galilee was executed by the Romans for treason of some sort or other. Aside from name, place of origin, and death, however, everything else is very hazy.
      - danieltillett 10y ago
        Jesus was a very common name at the time and Josephus mention at least 4 other Jesus's. I do agree that everything about the historicity of Jesus is very hazy.

antognini 10y ago

I had the privilege of visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after attending an astronomy conference in Israel a year ago. My wife and I got there for a mass just a little before 6am so it wasn't very crowded. It was really an extraordinary experience. The Edicule had something of a steampunk feel to it, which I was not expecting. As the article mentions, it was built in the 1800s, but due to the Status Quo agreement, it has not been maintained at all and it looked like it could collapse at any moment. The whole mass felt very surreal. As it was being celebrated there was simultaneously an Armenian liturgy and Greek Orthodox liturgy being celebrated on other sides of the Edicule. If you've ever been to one of those liturgies, you know that there's an almost constant drone of chant throughout. At times it was hard to hear the priest in front of us! I'm still not sure whether to interpret the experience as being a wonderful illustration of the unity or the disunity of the Christian Church.

virtualwhys 10y ago
Spent the winter in Israel a couple of years ago. The old city in Jerusalem is awe inspiring. As for the Holy Sepulchre, as a non-Christian I found it pretty surreal. Clearly for the faithful it's a big deal, saw people outright crying coming out of the Sepulchre. The church itself is beautiful, powerful artwork from all of the sects (Ethiopian included). Particularly the fresco at the entrance, Christ being laid to rest, the disciples in tears, pretty moving piece. Unfortunately my experience was darkened by a group of troublemaker teenagers; saw them shove an old woman deep in prayer, just appalling. On leaving they followed me and one of them spit in my hair. When I turned around the kid said, "only water, only water". Needless to say Jerusalem's a complex mix of cultures, history, and religions.
- ralfd 10y ago
  > On leaving they followed me and one of them spit in my hair Wtf?
- alsetmusic 10y ago
  > saw people outright crying coming out of the Sepulchre This sort of reaction is deeply troubling to me because I see it as evidence of the overwhelming grip that religions have on (some of) their followers. It reminds me of videos of teenagers crying at the sight of Michael Jackson or the Beatles at live performances. It is unnecessary. My mother, for example, is unable to laugh at even the most trivial of jokes about her religion, things that aren't even attacking her religion but simply having fun with a play on words. I am constantly seeking to remind her that it is a lack of lightheartedness that is at the rock of extremism. I encourage her involvement at her church for social reasons while attempting to remind her that anything that can't be laughed about is being taken too seriously (this is the foundation for many unnecessary wars and acts of violence or discrimination). I know the likelihood that I'll ever succeed is small, but it's important to me to wake people from what I consider to be a way of thinking that impairs sound judgement (say, when voting or choosing how to react to world politics). I'm not against religion or the right to practice religion, just its ability to cause hysteria.

vacri 10y ago

It's surprising that they've done this, given the Immovable Ladder's example of just how difficult it is to alter anything in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immovable_Ladder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immovable_Ladder

seren 10y ago
This is the first time I have heard about that story. This is so strange and unbelievable, and yet very familiar. It sounds like something out of Swift between the Big Endians and the Little Endians. Thanks for bringing it up.
jacquesm 10y ago
Nothing some termites or woodworms can't fix, and it will at least lay to rest one more religious conflict. From your link: "The primary conflicts, however, surrounding the ladder and its immovability have been disputed by a lasting conflict between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church." Surely such insect activity could be interpreted as 'an act of God' and then all parties could get on with their lives.

throwAway48 10y ago

You must be really proud to support an occupying/terrorist/religious state!

dang 10y ago
We've banned this account because comments like this aren't allowed on HN and people aren't allowed to create accounts just to post them. Personal attack plus inflammatory rhetoric is the sort of dynamite we need to avoid if we're to have civil, substantive discussion. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12813739 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12813739 and marked it off-topic.
- throwAway48 10y ago
  @dang: Predictable reaction This was not a personal attack in any way or form. It is a statement of the fact that supporting an apartheid state is not OK!

YeGoblynQueenne 10y ago

I've been to the tomb, once, when I was 13 ish. I remember an Orthodox priest inside the chamber, who was taking donations in exchange for candlesticks and talismans etc. I also remember him telling my father to leave the money on the tomb, next to his goods. My father, who is no more a Christian than I am was absolutely disgusted at that.

jacquesm 10y ago
Par for the course. Quote George Carlin: 'Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible ... all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise being that somehow just can't handle money!, Always needs a little more.'
- wodencafe 10y ago
  George's "Religion is Bullshit" bit was his absolute best, and my personal favorite.
bitL 10y ago
My experience was different while in Jerusalem - Christian churches were free to visit, synagogues required you to "donate" and mosques were immediately kicking you out.

british_india 10y ago

I call complete bullshit. From having watched shows like NCS, we know the amount of direct evidence it takes to establish something like who was buried somewhere. Like the shroud of Turin this is just another example of wishful thinking. They found some random tomb that has survived and announced that it was the tomb of this fictional character Christ. No chain of custody for evidence, just the wishful thinking of somebody who wants it to be true, just like the entire resurrection theory. Complete and total hogwash. If we were to say this is the burial site of Joseph the plumber, the proponents of this idea would have no evidence to argue otherwise.

gadders 10y ago
I'm an atheist, but I don't think Jesus was a fictional character.
- imaginenore 10y ago
  Why? What evidence is there?
  - Cthulhu_ 10y ago
    I wonder if it actually matters if he was real or not, or whether he did what the major religions claim he did. What matters is that billions of people believe it, and he's an example to billions of people, giving them a moral example to strive towards. You know, like superheroes in the US. They don't exist (which is factually verifiable still), but people are fans of them. What if in 2000 years people forget or lose the origins but the story of e.g. Star Wars is passed on through the ages? It's not proven to be real, but it provides a moral example, a distinction of good vs evil, and a code to live by.
    - qbrass 10y ago
      Now repeat the history of religious wars except now you know everyone's killing each other over movie preferences.
  - 10y ago

ohthehugemanate 10y ago

I always find stories like this fascinating. We're talking about a place where a mythical event was supposed to occur. It's like analyzing the place where Promethius first brought fire, or the spot where Osiris was resurrected. Maybe interesting for anthropology, but by no means the 'hard science' implied by the tone and presentation of the article. Of course they're OUR myths, so it's important that we describe them with serious sounding words, and pretend that they're a valid spur for hard scientific research. There isn't any evidence, outside of mythology, that this place or slab of marble has anything special to reveal about our universe. Just because you're looking through a scientific tool, does not change the fact that what you're looking at is mythology. You're just looking at a communion wafer through a microscope. Still, it's fascinating to me that we present it in the same tone and context that we present LHC results.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
> You're just looking at a communion wafer through a microscope. Well, I hope people are actually doing that. I think people believing in some phenomenon should aways encourage scientific inquiry into it.
etse 10y ago
It's fascinating to me that your strong belief (ie faith) that this is a myth should cause you to not be truth-seeking and thoughtful. I also can't see how the article's tone is "hard science". It uses words like "venerated", "Christian tradition", "sacred", and "cultural heritage" so I don't read presuppositions in it, and I don't recall seeing a hypothesis posed. One of the main points of the article was that there are a lot of people and representatives of faith involved, and if the result of "hard science" research is "peace and mutual respect" (as the article quoted), then I would take that over LHC results every time.

salimmadjd 10y ago

Article is misleading. "Restorers working in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel uncover stone slab venerated as the resting place of Jesus Christ" But it looks like the church is actually in the Palestinian lands [1]. Is there political motivation here? [1] https://www.google.com/maps/@31.7724981,35.2362521,15z https://www.google.com/maps/@31.7724981,35.2362521,15z

Illniyar 10y ago
The old city is technically part of the area taken in the 67 war, which is the areas which are usually talked about when refereing to palastine. But unlike the west bank, it was formally annexed by israel, it contains jewish holy sites such as the west wall, it is not currently part of the PA and I doubt anyone is seriously expecting it to be part of a future palastinian state (in a two state solution at least).
- salimmadjd 10y ago
  Thanks for clarifying
TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
Yes, of course, Palestine doesn't officially exist as a state, according to, well, most of the 'west'[1]. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_the_State_of_Palestine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_t...

d3ckard 10y ago

It will be really inconvenient if they find a body in there...

rolal 10y ago

A lot of the National Geographic societys work these days seems to have a strong appeal to religous people. They are owned by the FOX corporation and I wonder if this religious market is something that FOX is pushing them to focus on.

kesselvon 10y ago
They're just going where the money is. Selling NatGeo felt a bit like a betrayal, since NewsCorp is going to run it into the ground.
wyclif 10y ago
One story about archaeology, including the science thereof, in an ancient church isn't going to be a deal-breaker even for people who are fair-minded atheists.

rurban 10y ago

They should have really mentioned the real most likely burial place of the historical Jesus, which was found some decades ago by the archeaologist James Tabor, the Talpiot Tomb. The same guy also found the tomb of Jesus' family before. This tomb was opened in 2005 for some short time, but there's a new jewish apartment building on top of it, so they rather go with the Church of Holy Sepulcher fairy tale. Not many scientists but many Christians believe that Jesus actually lay in this Church of Holy Sepulcher for 3 days.