=Scenes of the Trials.= The Gospel narrative implies that Jesus was not tried before a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin, which would have convened in one of the chambers immediately adjoining the temple, but in the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. This midnight session was, therefore, not a regular trial, but a preliminary examination by his Sadducean enemies, with a view to formulating definite charges against him. The house of the high priest was undoubtedly near the temple, probably somewhere to the west. According to the Fourth Gospel, the trial before Pilate, the Roman governor, was held in the Prætorium. The judgment seat of Pilate may have been connected with the palace reared by Herod on the western hill, which was then the home of the Roman rulers of Jerusalem, but more probably it was in the tower of Antonia, immediately to the north of the temple, opening into the Court of the Gentiles where the mob which was in league with the high priestly party was assembled. =Traditional Place of the Crucifixion.= The exact scene of the crucifixion is also uncertain. The biblical records indicate that it was outside the city wall and yet in a conspicuous position near the city and also near an important highway. In the vicinity was a tomb, and the name, Golgotha, suggests that it was either at a place of burial or else on a hill, the form of which suggested the shape of a skull. In Luke the place is called The Skull, supporting the conclusion that it was the peculiar form of the rock that gave the place its name. Jerome speaks of it as the little mountain, or hill, of Golgotha. It was the practice both of the Jews and Romans to put to death public offenders outside the city. In the case of those, like Jesus, charged with rebellion, a conspicuous public place was chosen in order to make the object-lesson more impressive. The traditional site of the crucifixion is due west of the temple, across the upper end of the Tyropœon Valley. It is possible to infer from recent excavations that it was just outside the northern wall of the Roman city. Tombs discovered at this point show that it was also a place of burial. While this identification is not impossible, it cannot be traced farther back than the fourth Christian century.