Golgotha is the place where Jesus and two thieves were killed. It was near Jerusalem. The name appears in the New Testament only in the stories of Jesus's death. Three of the Gospels use the Hebrew-Aramaic word, “Golgotha” (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). Luke uses “Calvary,” meaning “skull” (Luke 23:33).
Why Was It Called "The Skull"?
We do not know for certain why this place was called "the skull." People have suggested different explanations:
Jerome, a Christian teacher who lived from AD 346 to 420, told a story that it was a place where many people were killed, and their skulls were left there. However, we have no proof of this from Jesus's time.
Some people think it was called "skull" because it was a place of death, using the skull as a symbol of death. Origen, an early Christian writer who lived from AD 185 to 253, mentions an ealry, pre-Christian tradition that says Adam's skull was buried there. This is probably the oldest known explanation of the name. Other writers after Origen also refer to this tradition.
Others have suggested the place got its name because it was a hill shaped like a skull. However, we have no proof of this, and the New Testament does not describe it as a hill.
Where Was Golgatha?
People today do not agree on the exact location of Golgotha. The Bible gives us several clues about where it was:
It was outside the city (John 19:20; Hebrews 13:12).
It may have been on high ground since people could see it from far away (Mark 15:40).
It was maybe near a road because people “who passed by” are mentioned (Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:29).
John’s story puts it near a garden with the tomb where Jesus was buried (John 19:41).
The use of "the" before "place" in “the place of the skull” suggests it was a well-known place.
Later Searches for Golgotha
People did not seem interested in finding Golgotha until around AD 300. Eusebius, a Christian historian who lived in Jerusalem for several years, wrote that Emperor Constantine asked Bishop Macarius to find the place where Jesus was killed and buried.
According to later stories, Queen Helena had a dream that led the bishop to the location. The place he chose had a temple of Aphrodite built by Emperor Hadrian. Constantine destroyed the temple. The story says he found pieces of Jesus's cross there. On that spot, he built two churches. This is where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is today. Although it has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, people have accepted this as the place since Constantine's time.
In 1842, a scholar named Otto Thenius suggested a different location. He believed Golgotha was a rocky hill about 228.5 meters (250 yards) northeast of Damascus Gate (one of Jerusalem's city gates). He thought this was the right place because:
people said it was where Jewish executions happened,
tt was outside the city wall, and
the hill looked like a skull.
Later, General Charles Gordon also supported this spot. It became known as “Gordon’s Calvary.”