At the archaeological site in the Holy Sepulchre complex, the ongoing excavation work was presented to the communities of the Orthodox Patriarchate, Custody of the Holy Land and Armenian Patriarchate.
The archaeological activities are coordinated by Francesca Romana Stasolla of the Department of Ancient World Studies, and by an interdisciplinary team comprising archaeologists of the Department of Ancient World Studies, historians and art historians of the History, Anthropology, Religion, Arts and Performing Arts, engineers of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and psychologists of the Department of Psychology of Developmental and Social Processes.
As of May 2022, archaeological investigations are taking place on part of the basilica’s north aisle and the north-west rotunda; work is being carried out in a continuous cycle, day and night, and the data processing is carried out in real time between Jerusalem and Rome, where the rest of the team is working.
Beatrice Brancazi and Stefano De Togni from the Department of Ancient World Studies presented the two excavation areas to the communities.
In the north aisle, a stratigraphic sequence was identified that allowed the trenches dug by Father Virgilio Corbo in the 1960s to be traced but also allowed entirely new data to be acquired.
The most interesting are those relating to the building site from the Constantinian period, pertaining to the construction of the religious complex, which was located within a quarry area.
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