Athena Review Image Archive ™
Jerusalem: Church of Holy Sepulchre, Chapel of St. Helena plan
Jerusalem: Plan of the Chapel of St Helena (Athena Review Image Archive)
The original chapel of St. Helena was built in the fourth century AD by Helena. the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
The
chapel, which lies below the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is located
on its eastern end and borders a quarry used in the Herodian period of
the late 1st century BC. The chapel was rebuilt in the 12th
century by Crusaders on the original level of Hadrian`s 2nd century
temple enclosure. It became an Armenian chapel. More evidence of this
construction sequence emerged with the 1970s excavation of a 4th
century wall of Constantine`s basilica.
The Crusaders used columns from the original 4th century chapel built by Helena. At rear is the east-facing altar in a double apse.
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