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Calvary & Golgotha Only in Luke 23:33, the Latin name Calvaria, which was used as a translation of the Greek word Kranion, by which the Hebrew word Gulgoleth was interpreted, "the place of a skull." It probably took this name from its shape, being a hillock or low, rounded, bare elevation somewhat in the form of a human skull. It is nowhere in Scripture called a "hill." The crucifixion of our Lord took place outside the city walls (Heb. 13:11-13) and near the public thoroughfare. "This thing was not done in a corner." (See GOLGOTHA.) Golgotha The common name of the spot where Jesus was crucified. It is interpreted by the evangelists as meaning "the place of a skull" (Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). This name reepresents in Greek letters the Aramaic word Gulgaltha, which is the Hebrew Gulgoleth (Num. 1:2; 1 Chr. 23:3, 24; 2 Kings 9: 35), meaning "a skull." It is identical with the word Calvary (q.v.). It was a little knoll rounded like a bare skull. It is obvious from the evangelists that it was some well-known spot outside the gate (comp. Heb. 13:12), and near the city (Luke 23:26), containing a "garden" (John 19: 41), and on a thoroughfare leading into the country. Hence it is an untenable idea that it is embraced within the present "Church of the Holy Sepulchre." The hillock above Jeremiah's Grotto, to the north of the city, is in all probability the true site of Calvary. The skull-like appearance of the rock in the southern precipice of the hillock is very remarkable.
3. GOLGOTHA or CALVARY (Mt 27:33; Mk 15:22; Jn 19:17) The word means "skull." Located near Jerusalem. Hebrews 13:12 indicates that it was "outside the gate." It was on a well-traveled road and was visible from a distance, thus many think of it as a hill. Two locations are suggested although Emperor Hadian destroyed most Christian holy sites with his own temples. Emperor Constintine commissioned Bishop Marcarious to find Calvary and the Tomb some 300 years after Christ. They excavated for the tomb and found what they claimed was a piece of the original cross which allegedly caused miracles. A second site was found in 1842 is known as Gordon's Calvary, a place that looks like a skull. The skull shape however is of recent making from mining, not natural formations and probably wouldn't have looked like a skull in Jesus time.
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