Religious Site
Gethsemane
geth-SEM-uh-nee · Modern Church of All Nations, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem · 31.7792° N, 35.2396° E
Gethsemane is the garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed in agony the night before his crucifixion and was betrayed by Judas and arrested (Matthew 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53; John 18:1-12). Its name derives from the Hebrew/Aramaic for "oil press," consistent with its traditional identification as an olive grove.
Archaeology
Excavations beginning in 1956 found evidence the site served as a Second Temple-period olive oil production facility. A 2014–2020 survey beneath the Church of All Nations uncovered a Second Temple-era ritual bath and remains of a 1,500-year-old Byzantine church predating the current 1924 structure. A 2012 radiocarbon study successfully dated three of the garden's oldest olive trees, with results ranging from 1092 to 1198 AD (11th-12th century, the Crusader period) — venerable, but not literally from the 1st century, though they may be descended from the same rootstock.
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
In Gethsemane, Jesus asked his friends simply to stay awake with him — who needs your presence more than your solutions right now?
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