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A team of scientists and restorers has completed nine months of work on the tomb in Jerusalem's Old City – focussing on the small structure above the burial place, known as the Edicule. Many Christians believe Jesus's body was buried at what became the grounds of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. And now the Edicule has been reinforced with titanium bolts and mortar it is expected to stand strong as members of the public visit the holy site. Bonnie Burnham from the World Monuments Fund said: “If the intervention hadn’t happened now, there is a very great risk that there could have been a collapse."

GETTY isputes between the dominations have held up restoration work for more than 200 years

Antonia Moropoulou, a professor at the National Technical University of Athens, said the structure needed reinforcement and conservation, including work on drainage network for rainwater and sewage. The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church, where tensions often run high over control of its various sectors. Disputes between the dominations have held up restoration work for more than 200 years. But work was forced to begin last year after the church was deemed unsafe by Israeli authorities, who have controlled East Jerusalem since its capture in the 1967 Middle East war.

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GETTY The tomb has now been opened to members of the public

Media reports said each denomination had contributed towards the project and Jordan's King Abdullah also made a personal donation, with the work costing around £2.65 million. The shrine inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been the subject of debate for hundreds of years, as to whether it is indeed the site where the Son of God was entombed following his crucifixion and from where he miraculously rose three days later. But during the restoration, more than 500 years since it was last sealed in 1550, the lid of the tomb was reopened. Finding little but filling material, it seemed at first that the tomb - ravaged over the years by fire, earthquakes and raids - may not be the site of Christianty's greatest miracle after all.

GETTY Work was forced to begin last year after the church was deemed unsafe by Israeli authorities

GETTY The tomb is expected to attract pilgrims from across the world