Editing Cave of the Patriarchs (section)

===Byzantine Christian period===
Until the era of the [[Byzantine Empire]], the interior of the enclosure remained exposed to the sky. Under Byzantine rule, a simple [[basilica]] was constructed at the southeastern end and the enclosure was roofed everywhere except at the centre.

During this period, the site became an important Christian pilgrimage destination. The [[Itinerarium Burdigalense|Pilgrim of Bordeaux]], c. 333, reported "a monument of square form built of stone of wondrous beauty, in which lie Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sara, Rebecca, and Leah".<ref>{{cite book |author=Palestine Pilgrims Text Society |title=Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem |translator=Aubrey Stewart |page=27 |year=1887}}</ref> [[The Piacenza Pilgrim]] (c. 570) noted in his pilgrimage account that Jews and Christians shared possession of the site.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Avni |first1=Gideon |title=The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0199684335 |chapter=Prologue: Four Eyewitness Accounts versus ‘Arguments in Stone’}}</ref>