Garden Tomb

The Garden Tomb is a late 19th-century archaeological garden and Christian pilgrimage site in Jerusalem presented by some Protestant traditions as a possible location of Jesus’ burial and resurrection. It contains a rock-cut tomb and gardened grounds for reflection and worship.

Within the site visitors can walk the garden, view a distinctive rock formation described by some as a skull-shaped hill and enter the restored rock-cut tomb area. The site is used for guided visits and quiet devotional services rather than liturgical rituals associated with older ecclesiastical claims.

The Garden Tomb was identified and developed as a devotional site in the 19th century and has remained under the care of a trust that facilitates visitors and small services. It offers an alternative devotional focus to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre within the broader context of Jerusalem’s many holy sites.

The garden is located just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City near the northern approaches, within the municipal area of Jerusalem and close to major visitor routes into the Old City.

• Use: The Garden Tomb was identified in the 19th century and is maintained as a quiet devotional space popular with Protestant and non-denominational visitors.

What to See #

• Skull Hill (Gordon's Calvary): A rocky outcrop close to the garden that is presented as a possible site of the crucifixion and is sometimes called 'Gordon's Calvary' by visitors.
• The tomb: The rock-cut tomb inside the garden is accessible to visitors and is presented as a first-century burial cave consistent with the era of the New Testament.