This place name means, "a bare skull." The place where Jesus was crucified. Our English word "Calvary" comes from the Latin calvaria. This word is a translation of the Greek kranion, meaning "skull." The Greek is a translation of the Aramaic golgotha, also meaning "skull." The word is used twice in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Judges 9:53; 2 Kings 9:35) to designate the skulls of Abimelech and Jezebel. "Calvary" appears in the New Testament, only in the story of the crucifixion. The gospel writers name it as the place where Christ was led to be executed.Matthew 27:33 reads, "And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull." The same verse is mentioned in Mark 15:22 and John 19:17. Exactly why the place was called this is not known. The logical explanation would be because the skull symbolized death. A place of execution would see its share of skulls. However, it may have taken this name from its shape, being a hillock or low, rounded, bare elevation somewhat in the form of a human skull.

Archeologists are uncertain where Calvary was located. John 19:20 and Hebrews 13:12 say that Jesus was taken outside the city to be crucified. Mark 15:29 suggests that a road most likely was in the immediate vicinity. The leading verse reads as follows, "And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days."

Two sites are held today as Calvary. The older, more traditional Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a complex of religious shrines venerated as the place of Christ's cross and tomb.

In the 4th century A.D., Queen Helena, mother of Constantine, had the site revealed to her in a vision. A pagan temple on the site was demolished and a shrine built in its place. There have been numerous destructions and re-buildings over the centuries. This fact has been revealed by the written records and the different layers of sediment and debris found by archeologists at this location.

Since 1842, a rocky hill outside the Damascus Gate has vied for veneration as Calvary. Discovered by Otto Thenius, the site gained fame when Charles Gordon wrote in 1885 that this was indeed Calvary. A garden tomb nearby, discovered in 1849, had drawn little attention until Gordon made his assertion.

Executions during the first century were conducted outside the city walls. This might tend to make Gordon's Calvary the logical site. However, at the time of Jesus' crucifixion the outer wall of Jerusalem was much closer to the center of the city. This would make the traditional site more plausible.

Perhaps the most telling fact between these places is the type of tombs they represent. Jewish tombs appear to have had small niches carved out of the walls in which bodies were placed. Later Byzantine tombs used trough-like slabs. This places the weight of authenticity with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Calvary is not mentioned in the Old Testament. However, it is mentioned, although only once by name, in the New Testament. Luke 23:33 reads, "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left."