The Tomb of Jesus, the site where Jesus was buried and later ascended to heaven, has finally been restored to its former glory.
The restoration of the Edicule was well timed for completion before this year's Easter festivities and was carried out by a team of Greek restorers team.
For the first time ever, pilgrims will be able to see the bare stone of the historic and religious burial cave after the restorers carved out a small window from the shrine's marble walls.
The newly constructed window that will enable pilgrims to see the original stone wall of the burial cave
The delicate restoration was carried out by a team of about 50 experts from the National Technical University of Athens, which had previously worked on the Acropolis in the Greek capital and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The conservators worked mainly at night in order to allow pilgrims continued access to the shrine.
A floor plan of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with the Edicule chamber marked in red on the left.
In October, a marble slab covering the rock-carved tomb was lifted for the first time in more than two centuries, allowing restoration workers to examine the original rock shelf or “burial bed†on which Jesus’s body is thought to have rested. A small window has been cut into marble slabs to allow pilgrims a glimpse of the rock.