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A verse in II Samuel speaks of this very hill: "And David went up by the ASCENT OF
MOUNT OLIVET, and wept as he went up..." (15:30). The Septuagint version of the Old Testa-
ment calls this "ascent of Mount Olivet" The Place of the Ros (Head). Now just what does this re-
fer to? Notice that the verses in question call the site The Place of THE Skull or Head (Ros) --
NOT The Place of A Skull or The Place of Skulls (plural)! It is very definitely referring to A
PARTICULAR SKULL OR HEAD! Many people have conjectured, over the centuries, that this
phrase indicates a geographical feature that looks like a skull or the top of a skull. But is this
correct?

Is it just possible this small hillock on the Mount of Olives was called The Place of THE
Skull because it was the burial place of A PARTICULAR SKULL?

Let's see what history and tradition reveal: "It was an EARLY TRADITION that Christ
was crucified IN THE SAME PLACE WHERE ADAM WAS BURIED. S. Chrysostom alludes to
it. 'Some say that Adam died there, and there lieth, and that Jesus, in that place where death had
reigned, there also set up the trophy.'" (The Cross in Tradition, History, and Art, by William
Wood Seymour. P.99).

Tentzelius' "Numial Treatise," quoted in Southey's Omniana, vol.i.,p.281, records this
amazing episode in ancient history: "The tree [of life], WITH THE BONES OF ADAM, was pre-
served in the ark by Noah, who divided the relics among his sons. THE SKULL FELL TO THE
SHARE OF SHEM [Noah's son], WHO BURIED IT IN A MOUNT OF JUDEA CALLED FROM
THIS CIRCUMSTANCE CALVARY AND GOLGOTHA [THE PLACE OF THE SKULL]." Isn't
that remarkable?

In early art Adam is frequently shown as rising up (from the grave) at the very foot of the
cross, holding a chalice or cup to catch the blood of Christ as it fell from the tortured body. Many
paintings or drawings of the crucifixion scene show THE SKULL OF ADAM beneath the stauros
or cross of Christ.

With this newly discovered knowledge it's easy to see WHY the site of Christ's death was
called Golgotha -- THE PLACE OF THE (ADAM'S) SKULL!!

This belief that Adam's skull was buried at Golgotha was common in the early church. Ori-
gen speaks of it as well known in his time; and St. Augustine wrote: "The ancients hold that be-
cause Adam was the first man, and was buried there [at Golgotha], it was called Calvary, because
it holds the HEAD of the human race." (De Civitate Dei, cap.32).

St. Basil said, "Probably Noah was not ignorant of the sepulchre of our forefather [Adam]
and that of the first born of all mortals, and in that place, CALVARY, the Lord suffered, the origin
of death there being destroyed." (Isa. cap.5).

The fact that this spot outside Jerusalem is called The Place of THE Skull in the gospels,
would tend to support the tradition of Shem having buried Adam's skull there.

According to Dr. Martin:

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