Christ’s newly restored tomb may collapse, says Antonia Moropoulou, chief scientific supervisor with the National Technical University of Athens.
The tomb’s structural integrity has been a concern for over 100 years.
The tomb has just been reopened after extensive renovations.
Moropoulou says the collapse will be a slow, but catastrophic process.
The problem is the tomb itself is on unstable ground.
Its foundations are made of a mixture of “tunnels, rubble and crumbling foundation mortar”.
Evidently the unstable foundations are partly a result of the limestone quarry where it was built.
This was once used as a cemetery for upper class Jews.
A lack of funds is a big problem with stabilising the foundations.
Scientists are working with Church authorities to determine the best plan for restoration work on the foundation, which is estimated to cost 6 million euro and would take about 10 months.
The tomb and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre sees nearly 4 million visitors a year.
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