Site where Jesus was crucified and buried reveals new evidence that backs biblical account

The findings were recently published in Liber Annuus, the archaeological journal of Jerusalem's Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, in a 98-page preliminary report on the campaign.

At the time, Stasolla confirmed that her team had uncovered ancient seeds and pollen in layers dating between the site's use as a quarry and its later Roman occupation.

The pollen and seeds date to "between the use of the quarry and the Roman age, when the area had a funerary use," Stasolla told Fox News Digital in 2025.

"The quarry had to be gradually abandoned and as the stone extraction ended, it was used for agricultural areas and tombs," Stasolla said. 

"This must have been what it looked like in the first century A.D."

The church was identified as Jesus' burial place during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, when the first church was built there.

Fox News Digital reached out to Stasolla for additional comment.

The findings add archaeological support to details described in the Gospel of John, said Douglas Estes, associate professor of religion at New College of Florida.

Archaeology has "over time, confirmed, again and again, details from the Gospel of John," he said - even though critics consider John's writings less accurate than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

He added, "For example, in the 19th century, scholars questioned whether or not there could be five colonnades [at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem], as John 5 describes. Later archeological discoveries have found that, yes, there were five colonnades there."

He said that "in the same way, scholars have largely doubted whether or not Jesus would have been buried in an orchard.

The professor said he was personally excited by the recent discoveries and that he has "a lot of hope that archaeology will continue to reveal significant finds about the life of Jesus."

"These great archeological discoveries are great for those of us who want to learn more about first-century Judaism, first-century Christianity and the life of Jesus," he added.