Jesus' Tomb Renovated for First Time in Two Centuries

Experts began renovating Jesus' tomb for the first time in 200 years. The place that is believed to be Jesus' burial and resurrection site is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is a place shrouded in mystery and controversy. 

The renovations come after a time of high tensions and rivalry between the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Christians who control the church. They have been charged with maintaining specific sections of the Church and fiercely guard their territories. An argument between a Greek Orthodox and Armenian monk escalated into a full-on brawl in 2008. 

But the rivalry has been put aside for the sake of the renovations. Last year, Israeli Antiquities experts declared the church unsafe and in need of dire renovations. Israeli police were forced to temporarily shut down the holy site due to the safety concerns. 

Now experts have flooded the holy site since Monday to repair the tomb. Their main focus is reinforcing and preserving the ancient Edicule - the chamber believed to house Jesus' tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcre. This is the first time the tomb has been renovated since 1810. 

Not only do experts hope to renovate the tomb, they also hope to uncover history. 

"It is a holy place," said project supervisor Antonia Moropoulou in a statement. "There are layers of history, of human constructions and reconstruction around and above the Holy Tomb of Christ and what we are expecting to do is to document and monitor all these layers of history, which are giving materials to scholars from various institutions around the globe. And this is a challenge to everybody."

The project is projected to cost about $3.3 million.