It has for many years been disputed whether the existing structure of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem were that built by Constantine, in the first half of the fourth century, or a later restoration or rebuilding under Justinian, some two centuries later. The documentary evidence is insufficient to decide the point, as no unequivocal description of the present church exists earlier than that of Sophronius in A. D. 635, which describes the building as τρίκογχος, triple-vaulted, or tri-apsidal. Unfortunately, this comes a century too late to decide the point at issue (pl. XIII).