JERUSALEM, Archeologist Francesca Romana Stasolla, professor of Christian and Medieval Archaeology at the Department of Antiquities of the University of Rome – Sapienza Università di Roma – presented last week to Jerusalem church leaders a progress report on its work on restoration work of the floor at the Holy Sepulcher Church in Jerusalem’s Old City that started in May of last year.

The report was presented to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton, and a representative of the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate.

However, following the visit of the Italian archeologist and the meeting with the church leaders, “summary and mainly inaccurate images, information and descriptions of the excavation spread on the web,” according to a statement by the Custos of the Holy Land.

In order to clarify the issue regarding the excavations and restoration work at Christianity’s holiest site, where the tomb of Jesus Christ is believed located, La Sapienza’s Francesca Romana Stasolla, in charge of the work, presented a progress report on her work which began on the northern half of the Rotunda and the intermediate area.

The work is currently concentrated in the southern part of the Rotunda and is done day and night in order to complete the work, said the report, adding that the archaeologists that are working in Jerusalem are supported by the rest of the team in Rome.

“The complexity of stratigraphy requires that we continue the archaeological investigations and the study of the artifacts, to determine specific sequences and chronologies and to propose philologically correct reconstructions,” said Archeologist Francesca Romana Stasolla in her progress report, which included detailed information about the history of the site.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency