Archaeologists have completed a fresh excavation beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, traditionally venerated as the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and burial, uncovering evidence that appears to corroborate details in the Gospel of John. The dig, led by Francesca Stasolla of Sapienza University of Rome, matters because it lends archaeological weight to a biblical passage long treated with scepticism by some scholars, offering a clearer picture of what the area looked like in the first century AD.

The team found ancient seeds and pollen in soil layers dating from the site's earlier use as a quarry through to its Roman-era occupation, consistent with John 19:41's description of a garden containing the tomb where Jesus was buried. Stasolla explained that as stone extraction ceased, the quarry was gradually repurposed for agriculture and burials. The preliminary findings, from a 2025 excavation, were published in a 98-page report in the journal Liber Annuus. Douglas Estes, a religion professor at New College of Florida who was not involved in the research, said the discovery joins other archaeological confirmations of John's Gospel, such as the verified existence of five colonnades at the Pool of Bethesda, and expressed hope for further finds illuminating first-century Jerusalem.