As for the location marked by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, its identification takes into account archaeological findings but is based largely on tradition that dates to the fourth century. Regarding the latter location, Biblical Archaeology Review (May/​June 1986, p. 38) states: “We may not be absolutely certain that the site of the Holy Sepulchre Church is the site of Jesus’ burial, but we certainly have no other site that can lay a claim nearly as weighty.” So the identification remains conjectural.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands on the traditional site of Golgotha and Jesus’ tomb. In the fourth century C.E., Emperor Constantine assigned the task of determining the place of Jesus’ impalement and his tomb to Bishop Macarius, who decided that Hadrian’s then-existing temple of Aphrodite (Venus) had been erected on the site. Constantine therefore ordered the demolition of this temple and the construction of a basilica that later underwent expansion and modification, becoming the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Archaeological excavations done since 1960 indicate that the area was used as a burial ground, and it is thought that this was true in the first century C.E. Though located within the present walls of Jerusalem, the site is believed to have been outside the city walls in Jesus’ day.