Caverns situated on the southern flank of Golgotha.
The summit of the geological formation is comprised entirely of lithic materials, with the base dimensions extending roughly 25 by 50 meters. Located within this rocky prominence are two cavities of substantial size, each capable of accommodating multiple persons. It is postulated that the cavity at a higher elevation might have been excavated from the rock face, although the absence of any discernible petroglyphic evidence, such as chisel marks, leaves this uncertain. Within the aforementioned upper cavity lies an erratic block of considerable dimensions, estimated to be about 2 meters in height. The origin of this massive stone’s presence in the location is intriguing and subject to speculation, as can be observed in the accompanying photographic documentation.
The second cavern displays a significant accumulation of straw, a condition that appears to have remained unchanged for at least two decades, based on personal observations. This raises questions regarding its historical significance. Could this have been a location linked to the nativity story, traditionally associated with Jesus? Furthermore, is there a possibility that the renowned religious figure’s birth and demise are geographically connected to a singular sacred mountain?
“Ellicott’s Commentary for the English Reader,” All the first three Gospels dwell on the fact of its not being, as so many graves were, a natural cavern, but cut, and, as St. Luke’s word implies. To some extent, smoothed and polished. Like almost all Eastern graves, it was an opening made in the vertical face of the rock. Neither of the two localities that have been identified with the sepulcher (see Note above) presents this feature, and, so far as this is not an argument against the identity of either with the actual tombs, we must assume that the rock has been so cut and shaped in the course of centuries as to lose its original form.
You can see the upper cave and glimpse the lower cave (lower right).