Constantine Goes Looking
In around AD 325, Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, ordered the search for Jesus’ tomb. His mother, Helena, travelled to the Holy Land at about the same time.
Local Christians pointed to Hadrian’s temple. Constantine’s workers pulled it down and dug away the earth below. Under it, according to the records, they found a tomb cut into the rock.
Eusebius, who wrote about these events at the time, described the tomb’s discovery as a great surprise to everyone. For Christians, finding it felt like a sign that their faith could finally be practised in the open.