David Harris

A capital find. The excavator of the Byzantine church recorded that several Egyptian-style “lotus shaped” capitals had been discovered. Unfortunately, they were never published, and no one knows how many capitals were found. Adjacent to St. Étienne, however, on the grounds of the Garden Tomb, a capital lies within a low stone wall. According to Barkay, its form and measurement indicate that it is Egyptian. Eight leaves, modeled in low relief, encircle the capital. Its shape most closely resembles palm capitals from the 19th Dynasty in Egypt (1308–1194 B.C.).