SEPULCHRE, THE HOLY

the tomb in which was placed the body of Jesus Christ; its exact site is uncertain. It is clear from the Gospel it was a rock tomb, and the remains of such are still visible around Jerusalem. ‘There seems to have been no attempt made at first by Christians to remember the place. In 325 Const an tine the Great determined to recover it, and a temple built by Hadrian in 135 was believed to be on the spot; a rock tomb found beneath was identified as the tomb of Christ. Here was built the still surviving Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a shrine visited by pilgrims to Jerusalem. Meanwhile doubts were raised from the VIII cent. as to whether this was the site, for more probably the tomb was outside the city walls, though the position of the walls at the time of Ohrist is uncertain. Some declare for a rock tomb outside the city walls near Jeremiah’s grotto,