Note 1 at Jn. 19:17: Golgotha literally means "the skull." Only Luke uses the Greek word "kranion" (Eng.-"cranium") which was translated as Calvary, to identify this place (Lk. 23:33).

The exact location of Golgotha has been questioned since the third century. During the reign of Constantine in the fourth century, the historian Eusebius commissioned Bishop Marcarius to find the true site of Golgotha and the tomb. Eusebius wrote that impious men had covered the sepulchre with earth and built a temple to the goddess, Venus, over it.

Based on this information, the emperor Constantine built the Church of Constantine on the site of Hadrian's Aphrodite temple, believing that to be the site of Golgotha. This site today is occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and has a long tradition as being the location of Golgotha and the garden tomb. However, it is also history that the pagan emperor, Hadrian, had deliberately obscured many Christian holy sites with his temples so that their exact location was unknown.

In 1842, Otto Thenius suggested that an area which the Jews called, "The Grotto of Jeremiah" was the actual site of the crucifixion and burial. Forty-three years later, General Charles Gordon declared this to be the true site and it has since then been called "Gordon's Calvary." Many prefer this site to the traditional site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Gordon's Calvary also resembles the appearance of a skull with caves in the face of the hill. However, many argue that these caves are actually mines which only date back 300 or 400 years at the most.

These facts are evident from Biblical accounts. Golgotha was near Jerusalem (Jn. 19:20) but outside the city walls (Heb. 13:12). The terminology, "passed by," implies that Golgotha was by a well-traveled road. Mark 15:40 and Luke 23:49 also mention being able to view the crucifixion from a long way off suggesting that Golgotha was a hill.