On descending into the vestibule, we see in its south wall a small low door, which can only be passed by creeping on the ground. Here, though the result of my observations[831] will be found to differ from those of M. de Saulcy, I take this opportunity of expressing my respect for him, as one of the first persons to investigate with technical precision the monuments of Palestine. We come, then, to the entrance of the sepulchral chambers, by descending six steps hewn in the rock, which start from a circular hollow about two feet deeper than the general level of the floor of the vestibule, in which, no doubt, the funeral ceremonies were completed. I removed all the stones from this place in order to be able to give an exact account of it. On the left-hand side of the door in a kind of narrow gutter, which joins the steps again by a course of three sides of an oblong, is a large stone of an ellipsoidal form, the outline near the extremities of the shorter axis being flat instead of curved. On the right hand is a hollow in the wall, into which one of the apses of this stone was inserted. This arrangement enables us to form an accurate idea of the manner in which the Tomb of Christ was closed. The stone now rests with one of its apses on the ground, so that its longer axis is perpendicular to the level of the floor. The upper segment of the stone corresponds with the cavity in the rock on the right hand; and the square, formed by the flattened edges of the stone and two lines joining their extremities, is larger than the doorway by rather more than an inch each way. It is therefore evident that it was not necessary to roll this stone, but simply to lower it from left to right, so as to turn the axes through a right angle and bring the shorter axis perpendicular to the ground; when the apse fitted into the above-mentioned cavity, and the stone, resting upon the lowest step, effectually closed the doorway. The means employed to raise and lower this stone was no doubt a chain, passing over two pulleys, with vertical axes, which a person drew towards himself to raise the stone from its place. The two right-angled elbows in the above-mentioned channel were to apply the force to the chain more conveniently. The channel in which the stone lies was covered by a long slab, and we can still see the points on which this rested.