Why can't Christians Verify Exactly Where Jesus Was Buried?

[Gemini]

I think there probably was a historical person the book of Mark is loosely derived from, but I think the story of Joseph of Arimathea was invented out of whole cloth just to give Jesus a tomb to rise from. Ordinarily, the Romans would throw criminals condemned to crucifixion into a mass grave. There's no reason to believe that they would make an exception for Jesus, and the only purpose giving him a tomb serves is dramatic. It makes for an intriguing climax to a story, which is what the gospels were--religious propaganda used to proselytize by telling a good yarn.

A really damning problem, though, is how little impact the historical Jesus made within his culture. If it hadn't been for Paul and Greco-Roman converts, Christianity would have been completely forgotten. Which is not surprising, if we (safely) assume that no actual miracles took place. To anyone familiar with Jewish theology, Christian doctrines are so preposterous that it's just a non-starter. So it's not surprising that hardly any contemporaries cared where the founder of the religion was buried.