Easter Sunday. As a Christian, this is a time when I remember that the tomb was not where Jesus stayed after death. He conquered the grave, defeated death, and rose again as my Savior. I'm so glad that He did that for me.
While in Israel, we were able to see the tomb that is believed to have belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. As a rich man, he had a freshly dug crypt in the rock. It was in reasonable distance of the rock they called Golgotha, of the place of the skull.
Erosion over time has been erasing the skull-like appearance on the cliffside, however, old photos and a quick glance can see how it came to be named such.
This was important as they had to act quickly once permission was granted to take the body of Christ. They didn't have as much time to bury their dead properly as the Jewish laws did not permit it. The Garden Tomb is a lush garden that has so much more than just the tomb. It is a garden, after all. Watch your head as you enter, the doorway is rather small. As you enter, to the left is where the body would be prepared for the burial. The ritual was to wash it, put the herbs or sweet odors on it, wrap it up and leave it. After a year, they would come back to find nothing but the bones left. These would then be moved into a stone box and put into one of the chambers on the right side. As large as this one was, it would have been for all his family members over time. However, this one was not used again (that I remember). Another reason for the belief that it belonged to Joseph. There was also a wine press. Something a rich person would have had would be their own wine press. Not to be shared like the ones they kept for the public to use. 
