It seems then impossible to deny that the Tomb of Christ still exists upon the traditionary site, and that it in all respects resembles one of those sepulchral chambers, hewn in the rock, which can be seen at the present day in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem[417]; in which the corpse is extended upon a shelf, under an arched niche, excavated in one of the side walls of the tomb, some little distance above the ground. The arch above the shelf is indeed no longer to be seen, because it has been destroyed, perhaps during Hakem's reign: but the two side walls, which supported it at the head and foot of the shelf, still remain, and, encased with white marble, form the altar at which the Priests celebrate mass. It would be more satisfactory to the incredulous if this covering were removed, but if this were done the rock itself would not long remain. Each traveller and pilgrim would practise every possible device in order to obtain a fragment as a relic; and it would be a hard matter to persuade the Eastern pilgrims, and above all others, the Americans, to keep their hands off it.
But still, although the rock is concealed, a strong proof of the existence of a tomb is afforded by the shape of the entrance, which has every appearance of the doorway of a sepulchral chamber, and closely corresponds with that leading to the Tombs of the Kings, which was closed with a large elliptical stone, still to be seen on the spot[418]. I consider however that its height has been since increased, in order to make a more convenient entrance; because it is now higher on the east than on the west, while in all the ancient sepulchres still existing the interior is higher than the exterior. We may then observe with what rigorous exactness the words of the Evangelists are verified by the appearance of the Tomb. S. Matthew[419] relates that an angel "_rolled_ back the stone from the door," using the precise word which would express the way in which the stone now at the Tombs of the Kings would have to be handled. S. Mark[420] relates that when Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James were on their way to the Sepulchre to embalm the Lord's body, they asked among themselves, "Who shall _roll us away_ the stone from the door of the Sepulchre?" and that, "when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, _for it was very great_; and entering into the Sepulchre they saw a young man _sitting on the right side_," who shewed them the place where Jesus of Nazareth had been laid. The stone certainly would be _very great_, if it resembled that at the Tombs of the Kings; and without entering the sepulchral chamber they would be unable to see the angel and the place where the Lord had been laid, (on the _right_ side of the Sepulchre where it is now shewn,) both by reason of the thickness of the wall, in which the doorway was made, and because the niche was rather on one side of it. S. Luke[421] also speaks of the rolling away of the stone, and the necessity of entering the chamber before they could see that the Lord's body was not there. S. John[422] also mentions that the stone was removed, and describes the manner in which S. Peter and the other disciple looked into and entered the Sepulchre; just as would still have to be done, if the door had not been enlarged. Had not a pious vandalism been allowed to work its will from the age of Constantine to the present day, no one would be able to deny the existence of the Sepulchre; for all objections would be met by the presence of the outer chamber, which was also excavated in the rock, as in many examples still remaining in the neighbourhood of the city: but unhappily those parts of it which had escaped the injuries done by Hadrian, were completely swept away at the time when the first basilica was built, in order to isolate the Tomb itself, and exhibit it as an object of veneration in the centre of the rotunda. This can be inferred from the words of Eusebius[423]: "Is it not surprising to see this rock standing alone in the centre of a level space, with a cavern inside it?" S. Cyril, in the fourth century, writes more expressly; "For 'the cleft of the rock' he calls the cleft which was then at the door of the Salutary Sepulchre, and was hewn out of the rock itself, as it is customary here in the front of sepulchres. For now it appears not, the outer case having been hewn away for the sake of the present adornment; for before the Sepulchre was decorated by royal zeal there was a cave in the face of the rock[424]." Therefore, from the above evidence, we may draw the following conclusions: that an ancient Jewish sepulchre exists at this place, that over it Hadrian erected a temple to Venus, and that consequently this is the identical tomb in which the body of our Redeemer was laid.