Garden Tomb

The Garden Tomb is one block north of Damascus Gate. The modern name Garden Tomb comes from the Gospel of John: “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid” (John 19:41). Many come to this special and beautiful garden to remember the resurrection of the Savior. 

There is a hill near this tomb that has the appearance of a skull. That look has deteriorated from weather and the impact of being located above a bustling bus station. Gospels describe the Crucifixion site as “a place of a skull” (Matt 27:33). Matthew, Mark, and John use “Golgotha” (Aramaic for skull).  The name Golgotha (“a place of a skull”) may simply mean it was a place of execution and burial, not that it physically looked like a skull. The JST of Matt 27:33 describes Golgotha as “a place of burial” rather than a place that resembled a skull.