Calvary

Calvary, also known as Golgotha, was a place just outside the old walls of Roman Jerusalem. It is very important in Christianity because this is where Jesus was crucified, as told in the four main books called the canonical gospels.

For many hundreds of years, people have traveled to this place as a special journey called a pilgrimage. Many believe the exact spot is inside a chapel at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This idea comes from a story about Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine the Great, who visited the Holy Land in the year 325 and said she found the place.

Some other ideas about where Calvary might be have come up too. In the 1800s, some Protestant scholars thought it might be near a place called the Garden Tomb, on a hill now known as Skull Hill, not far from the traditional site.

Biblical references and names

Calvary and Golgotha are names that mean "place of the Skull." People have used these names for a long time. The Bible says that Jesus was crucified at this place, and it is often called Mount Calvary in songs and stories.

Different writers have used many versions of these names. Some thought the place looked like a head, while others had different ideas about it.

Location

People do not all agree on where the site was. Some holy writings say the place where Jesus was crucified was "near the city" and "outside the city gate." Others say that people passing by could see and read a sign there.

Christian tradition since the fourth century points to a place inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Today this church is inside Jerusalem's walls, but some believe that when Jesus lived, the city was smaller, and this spot would have been outside the city walls.

Some think that a later ruler named Herod Agrippa built a wall that brought the area inside the city. Others argue that ancient graves found near the church show it was outside the city in Jesus' time.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Pilgrims come to touch a special rock in the Chapel of the Crucifixion. This rock is very important to many people.

The traditional place where Jesus was crucified is believed to have been found by Queen Mother Helena in the year 325. Her son, Constantine, built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre around this site. An old book from 333 describes the church and the hill where Jesus was crucified.

Before this, the site was a temple to Aphrodite. Hadrian, a Roman leader, built this temple. Christians believe Hadrian did this to hide the Christian holy sites. Evidence shows Christians visited the site even when the temple stood there.

During excavations, workers found that the area was once a quarry. Inside the church is a large rock that many believe is the remaining part of Golgotha, the place of crucifixion. Restorations have uncovered interesting details about this rock.

Many early writers and pilgrims wrote about Golgotha and the church built by Constantine. They described the hill and the nearby tomb where Jesus was laid before rising again.

Gordon's Calvary

Main article: Gordon's Calvary

In 1842, a scholar named Otto Thenius from Germany thought a rocky hill north of Damascus Gate might be the place called Golgotha from old stories. Later, in 1882–83, a leader named Charles George Gordon agreed with this idea, and the place sometimes became known as Gordon's Calvary. This spot, now called Skull Hill, has a cliff with two big holes that look like eyes, which Gordon thought looked like a skull.

Nearby is an old tomb called the Garden Tomb, which Gordon thought might have been where Jesus was buried. However, some believe this tomb is much older and might have been unused by the time of Jesus.