Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 20ft-wide circular marble monument beneath Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, directly surrounding the burial chamber Christians venerate as the tomb of Jesus Christ. The find offers fresh evidence of how one of Christianity's holiest sites was marked out, altered and rebuilt over more than 1,600 years of worship, conflict and restoration.
The newly identified structure does not resolve who was originally buried in the rock-cut chamber at its centre. The church has, however, been revered by Christians as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection for nearly 1,700 years, anchoring centuries of pilgrimage and tradition in this part of Jerusalem's Old City.
