Ground penetrating radar investigation of the bell tower of the church of the Holy Sepulchre

The 12th century Bell Tower of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has sustained significant damage in 1545 from an earthquake. Subsequent interventions did not address the structural damage, until 2001, when the Israel Antiquities Authority and The Technical Office of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem implemented a project for the conservation of the Bell Tower. More recently, Ground Penetrated Radar was utilized, as part of a preliminary diagnostic study, and demonstrated the technique’s ability to evaluate the state of the structural cracks of the Bell Tower and to assess the effectiveness of past conservation interventions.