survey measurements and photocoordinates as the 
weighted observations would be used. Therefore any 
photograph and any survey measurement which could be 
obtained would contribute to the record of the Tomb. 
Permission to place small adhesive paper targets or the 
steel girders which supported the Edicule was given in 
advance, but when they were first emplaced they were 
viewed with great suspicion by some of the 
representatives of the Communities. Some targets were 
removed and thrown down. It was known that the right to 
clean, or affix things to, certain parts of the Edicule was 
defined by the Status Quo. Could placing a target be 
construed as an infringement of the Status Quo? Patience 
and goodwill prevailed. The presence of the small targets 
was finally seen as not a threat to the Status Quo. During 
the next few days one of the custodians of the Tomb 
guarded the targets from inquisitive tourists with almost 
as much fervour as he performed his more usual duties. 
Five survey stations were defined by identifying marks on 
the floor of the Rotunda and three more on the floor of the 
gallery. These eight stations and the lines of sight between 
them formed a framework which enclosed the Edicule. 
Measurements of horizontal and zenith angles and slope 
distances were made using a Wild TC1600 recording 
tacheometer. For distance measurements to the targets on 
the Edicule a hand-held mini-prism was used. Had free 
access to stations and targets been possible, the control 
survey could have been done in a few hours. It took five 
days to complete the external control survey. Lines of 
sight were usually obscured by the almost continuous 
throng of tourists and pilgrims around the Rotunda and 
queuing to enter the Edicule. Similar problems have 
presumably always faced those who wished to survey the 
Tomb. Over 850 years ago, the Russian Abbot Daniel 
wrote "I went after my mass to the Guardian of the Keys 
of the Holy Sepulchre and said ' I want to retrieve my 
lamp!' He received me with affection and let me go alone 
into the Sepulchre..... Then I measured the length and the 
Figure 3. Plan of the Edicule (in progress) showing the two inner chambers. 
width and the height of the tomb as it is presently, an act 
no one can do when there are people about." (Daniel the 
Abbot, 1106). 
Photography was equally difficult to acquire. The overall 
plan adopted was to take, as far as possible, converging 
sets of near-normal stereopairs using a Zeiss (Jena) UMK 
10/1318 with Agfa Avipan 100PE glass plates. The 
ambient light levels in the Rotunda were very low. A little 
daylight filtered down from the crown of the Rotunda 
dome. A few tungsten light bulbs of low wattage were 
sometimes alight in adjacent chapels, but they added little 
to the light from the candles inside the Edicule and on 
altars around the Rotunda. Two 2kW tungsten halogen 
light sources had been taken to Jerusalem. The light from 
these was reflected off the walls of the Rotunda onto the 
Edicule to minimise harsh shadows, especially those cast 
by the steel girders. Variations of the type and reliability 
of the power sockets available resembled the diversities 
of the Communities in the Church. Once again, much 
patience and understanding were necessary on all sides. 
Often two hours and once four hours passed between 
taking the first and second photographs of a stereopair. 
Hours spent waiting to take a photograph were 
nevertheless full of interest: the passing throng of pilgrims 
and tourists speaking many different languages and 
behaving in very different ways; a chant from the Copts 
in a language similar to that spoken by the Pharoahs; a 
fugue on the Franciscans' organ; a liturgical procession 
lead by the Armenian Patriarch; bass and tenor choral 
singing from the Greek Orthodox Katholikon. Events such 
as these, sometimes taking place simultaneously, made 
surveying a unique experience for all involved. It was 
clearly not going to be possible to make any survey 
measurements or take any photographs with the UMK 
inside the Edicule during the time the Church was open to 
the public. Only by joining the queue could it be entered 
during the day.