This Easter was a unique celebration for me, having returned so recently from Israel where I walked in places that Jesus and His disciples walked. One place that was lovely was the Garden Tomb. For many years the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was considered to be the place of Jesus’ death and burial, but that site does not fit the biblical record nor does archaeological evidence support that claim. In 1883 the Garden Tomb site was proposed by a British general, Charles Gordon, as the actual site of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This YouTube clip tells a little bit about him.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruqz_6_7E_U
This tomb does match the biblical descriptions of Jesus’ tomb, various details given in each Gospel. First of all, the tomb was very close to the place Jesus was crucified (John 19:41). Near the Garden Tomb is the highest cliff in the city, which has the appearance of a skull in the rock formation. Could this be Golgotha (Aramaic) or Calvary (Latin) – the Place of the Skull? The hill is beside the busy Damascus Gate and a busy road, a typical place the Romans would use for execution. Excavations at the foot of this hill revealed the bones of hundreds of victims of execution. The Skull is also due north of the former temple, which is significant because Moses gave instructions in the Law that the sacrificial lambs were to be killed on the north side of the altar. These lambs were for a sin offering.
Other evidence is also compelling: Jesus’ tomb was in a garden ( John 19:41). The area excavated around this tomb reveals there was a wine press and a huge cistern, indicators that cultivation took place here. Joseph of Aramathea, a rich prominent man owned the garden and tomb where Jesus was laid (Matt 27:57). The size of the cistern and the presence of a wine press here suggest people of means owned this property. Matthew 27:60 mentions that Jesus’ tomb was one Joseph himself had cut out of the rock. This tomb is a rock-hewn cavern. Jesus’ tomb was a “new tomb” (Matt 27:60 and Luke 23:53) and this tomb appears to be still under construction. Jesus’ tomb had a low entrance, such that when Peter arrived at the tomb he had to bend over to look into the tomb, as did Mary Magdalene (John 20:5, 11). This tomb has a low entrance. Mark 16:5 says that the women who went to the tomb on Easter morning saw an angel sitting inside the tomb “on the right side.” In most tombs the chambers are back to back, but this tomb has two chambers side by side, quite unusual. But such a configuration would enable the angel to be sitting “on the right” of the doorway. Jesus’ tomb was closed with a huge stone. No stone was found here during excavations, but there is a large “trough” in front of the entrance where a stone could have been rolled.
When the tomb was excavated this red cross was found on the outside wall as well as inside the tomb. It dates from Byzantine times (324 AD). There is also evidence that a Byzantine church once stood on the site. Did early believers have an oral tradition that this was the tomb of their Savior? This website gives more interesting information about the Garden Tomb and the people responsible for its discovery. Although General Charles Gordon proposed this tomb belonged to Christ, he was not responsible for the excavation. He died in 1885 at Khartoum, Sudan. Two amateur women archaeologists, Charlotte Hussey and Louisa Hope,were deeply involved in the purchase of the site, and the creation of The Garden Tomb Fund whose mission statement included the intention "to preserve (the garden and tomb) from desecration ...and from superstitious uses." Charlotte Hussey was also involved in the excavation and personally uncovered the red Byzantine cross. When I learned this I was amused at God's sense of humor. On the first Easter Sunday, it was women who came to the tomb and found that it was empty. In modern times God used women again to tell the world about this tomb, and to preserve it from sacrilege and superstition. 
In all I read and heard about the Garden Tomb, one point took my breath away. During the excavation of this site, the workers uncovered many small tombs, all filled with bones. Then they uncovered this larger tomb, obviously owned by a person of means. When they went inside they found it was empty!!
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