All Christians knew that Jesus had been crucified, buried and rose again under the domes of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. But many Protestants did not like this place (too Catholic) and in the 1800’s they found another location which they claimed was Calvary and the burial place of Christ.
In my book St. John’s Gospel: a Bible Study Guide and Commentary“ I devote several pages to this argument and to the scientific and archaeological evidence.
Here are a few paragraphs from the Biblical Archaeological Review Magazine on this topic. It is not the Protestant “Garden Tomb” where Jesus was crucified, died and rose again. Rather, is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where we will be celebrating Mass in a week with our 57 excited pilgrims.
Biblical Archaeological Review:
“What if everything we think we know about the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is wrong?
“That’s the jaw-dropping possibility that comes from reading the work of some of the world’s most pre-eminent Bible and archaeology scholars.
“Of course, there’s always been fierce debate between scholars and theologians about every aspect of Jesus’ life and death. But sometimes even the most well-known sides of a debate demand new scrutiny.
“For instance, which is really the tomb of Jesus: the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Garden Tomb? The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is hallowed by tradition that goes back at least to the fourth century, when the emperor Constantine built the first church there.
“But in the 19th century, western Protestants regarded the Catholic Holy Sepulchre Church—in a densely built-up area of the Old City—as unsuitably located, and gave their loyalty to a two-chambered burial cave outside the city wall known as the Garden Tomb.
“At last, archaeology and science can weigh in. According to archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, the Garden Tomb is dated to the eighth–seventh centuries B.C.E. and was not in use during Jesus’ time.
“And while that may be a disappointment to anyone who has visited the Garden Tomb on a pilgrimage, it’s rewarding to serious students of Biblical history to learn the undisputed truth.”