Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ’s burial. On grounds of tradition alone, this church is the best candidate for the location of these events. The Garden Tomb was not identified as the tomb of Jesus until the 19th century.
The original Byzantine church was destroyed by the Persians in AD 614. Rebuilt shortly thereafter, the Egyptian caliph al-Hakim destroyed the church in 1009 and had the tomb hacked down to bedrock. The Crusaders rebuilt the church and much of what is standing today is from that time period. The ladder in the upper right window has been there since at least 1860, a testimony to rivalries between the church’s factions.