The first Christian emperor of Rome, Constantine, the son of Helena, wrote to Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, in 327 AD, directing him to demolish the Temple of Venus.
Which had been located on the site of Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher, and construct a basilica in its place.
Historians claim that three separate crosses were recovered after Helena visited the location to start excavation.
However, Helena had a dying woman taken to the scene so she could touch each cross in turn because there was nothing to differentiate Jesus’ cross from the crosses of the two thieves who were crucified with him.
The fact that the ill woman was immediately healed after touching one of the crosses was seen as evidence that it was the cross where Our Lord had died.
It is indeed a rare find for the Hyatt family to have found this pendant, which was made to contain such a relic and is one of only four known.
