TITLE:
The Golgotha Unveiled from the Writings of Maria Valtorta Is Not the Traditional One
AUTHORS:
Emilio Matricciani
KEYWORDS:
Garden Tomb, Golgotha, Gordon’s Calvary, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Maria Valtorta, Psephinus Tower, Roman Crucifixion, Russian Compound
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.12,
December
27,
2024
ABSTRACT: Maria Valtorta (MV) (1897-1961)—an Italian mystic who claimed to have visions of Jesus’s life—describes Jesus’ crucifixion with many details from which significant data can be retrieved. My investigation based on these data and the topography of northwest Jerusalem in the I century AD, shows that Jesus’ crucifixion place, Golgotha (the “skull”), is neither at the Holy Sepulchre nor in the Garden Tomb area. The paved road to Golgotha she accurately describes arrives at its top with the minimum mean route gradient; its half way defines two distinct tracts with same height and same walking time but different mean route gradient; at half way Jesus is allowed to walk to the top in a spiral country road less steep than the second tract. The paved road leads to a place where a few years after Jesus’ crucifixion the Psephinus Tower, described by Flavius Josephus, was erected, in the area known today as the Russian Compound. In conclusion, the Golgotha unveiled from MV’s writings was at the same location of the Psephinus Tower.