Josh Gates Found Something TERRIFYING At The Location Where Jesus Was Crucified

What hey, come here. What? What is this? You got something? What you got? What you got?

I thought this was a white stone in eight. Look at this. Is that blue? That’s guy right beneath a layer of fill. They found a piece of marble stamped with a cross from the time of the Crusades. The church is, in a word, breathtaking. The very air that hangs inside seems infused with something holy.

While on a trip to the ancient land of Jerusalem, Josh Gates found something at the location where Jesus was crucified—one that could alter our understanding of Jesus’s death and Resurrection forever.

What did the renowned Explorer discover in this highly revered site, and what other fascinating finds has Josh Gates stumbled upon in his travels?

Join us as we explore the Josh Gates Expedition, investigating the most incredible adventures and discoveries.

Exploration in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the heart of the Old City in Jerusalem lies a magnificent structure with a rich history linked to perhaps the most famous man to have ever existed—Jesus Christ. This is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, home to the two holiest sites mentioned in the Bible: Golgotha and the tomb where Jesus was supposedly buried.

Historians believe the church itself was built on the very hill where Jesus was crucified, and within its depths, you will find the very place where the rabbi was laid to rest after his crucifixion.

When Josh visited the holy site back in 2019 for an episode of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown, nothing could have prepared him and his crew for the shocking discovery they were about to uncover. Josh began the episode by delving into the very history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, including a full breakdown of its spiritual significance and its place in the biblical narrative of the story of Jesus.

The genesis of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a story that takes us to around 330 AD, after Emperor Constantine finally embraced Christianity. He sent his mother, Helena, on a noble mission to travel to the Holy Land of Jerusalem and identify the holiest of all the sites associated with Jesus. During this historic trip, Helena commissioned magnificent churches and breathtaking architecture. But the most intriguing of them all was the famed Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

It wasn’t the building that made this one special, nor was it the artifacts carefully tucked away in its aged rooms. What set this church apart was because it stood right over the very lands where Christ was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead, according to the biblical account.

But even before Helena ever found the spot to build the church, the land was already well known as a pilgrimage site for early Christians. Modern archaeologists have found Latin descriptions on some of the sites dating back to way before the church was constructed. So it’s safe to say it has always held religious significance for the early believers.

However, it’s also worth noting that prior to the building of the church in 330 AD, this whole space was actually occupied by a pagan temple. As unbelievable as it sounds, the site on which the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands was once home to a Jupiter or Venus Temple built by the Romans, who persecuted the Christians in the church’s early days.

Though the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has also had its fair share of woes, like in 614 AD when Persian invaders torched the building, burning it to the very ground, years later a renovated structure was standing on the same spot before being destroyed again in the year 969 by the pathological caliph al-Hakim. It was eventually restored by the 12th-century Crusaders and retains the same form till today.

As Josh and his team stepped into the lavishly decorated church, he echoed the doubts of many historians and archaeologists. Was this church built in the right spot? Did Helena really pick out the place where Jesus was killed and buried, or was there a miscalculation and the holy revered land actually lies out there somewhere?

This mystery is what brings many archaeologists to this church, especially down into the hidden chambers where the tomb of Jesus lies. For hundreds of years, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has entertained millions of visitors itching to see for themselves where the king of the Jews was buried.

Just like every archaeological structure, it began to show signs of wear and tear. Time had also taken its toll on the structure, and so by 2016, expert scientists were called in to do an emergency restoration. However, while working on the project under a strict deadline of just 60 hours, they made a shocking discovery that settled the authenticity debate forever.

Beneath the layer of fill, the archaeologists found a piece of marble stamped with a cross from the time of the Crusades. As they dug deeper down, they found even older marble from the time of Constantine. At the very bottom, they also discovered the original limestone bed, which finally confirmed that there used to be a burial cave right there. So, it was basically a tomb built on a tomb that was also built on a tomb. With no iota of doubt, this was confirmed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was buried.

However, this wasn’t the only fascinating discovery Josh has made recently. The next one takes us to another fascinating time in history: exploration at the ancient city of El Mirador.