Jesus’s tomb opened

30/10/2016

This news has been read 6540 times!

Greek preservation experts work to strengthen the Edicule surrounding the Tomb of Jesus, where his body is believed to have been laid, as part of conservation work done by the Greek team in Jerusalem on late Oct 28. The experts from the National Technical University of Athens for cultural heritage preservation removed the marble slab stone that covered the original tomb since the last restoration of the edicule on 1810 by Greek architect Nikolaos Komnenos.

Preservation experts have opened for the first time in at least two centuries what Christians believe is Jesus’s tomb inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Some of the historic work was witnessed by AFP photographer Gali Tibbon who captured images of the site believed to contain the rock upon which Jesus was laid in around 33 AD as it was uncovered as part of ongoing restoration at the site. A marble slab covering the site, among the holiest in Christianity, was pulled back for three days as part of both restoration work and archaeological analysis, experts on the scene told AFP.

It was the first time the marble had been removed since at least 1810, when the last restoration work took place following a fire, and possibly earlier, said Father Samuel Aghoyan, the church’s Armenian superior.

A painting of Jesus can be seen in the narrow area above where the marble slab was removed. Debris and material was found beneath the marble and was being further studied, Aghoyan said. “It is moving in a sense, something we’ve been talking about so many centuries,” Aghoyan told AFP. National Geographic has been documenting the restoration work which is being carried out by a team of Greek specialists. (AFP)

This news has been read 6540 times!

30/10/2016