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tom.wineman
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Interesting story
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British archaeologist discovers 'John the Baptist' cave near
Jerusalem
Sun Dec 5, 2:10 PM ET Science - AFP
KIBBUTZ TSUBA, Israel (AFP) - A British archaeologist has uncovered
a cave in the mountains near Jerusalem which he believes
conclusively proves that the Biblical figure of John the Baptist
existed.
"The first concrete evidence of the existence of John the Baptist
has been found on site," 46-year-old Shimon Gibson told AFP.
Gibson, who holds a degree from University College London and has
written several works on Biblical archaeology, believes the
discovery to be "the first archaeological proof of the historical
veracity of the Gospels".
Other archaeologists, however, believe Gibson's conclusions go too
far, and that the discovery of an ancient place of worship linked to
John the Baptist does not prove that he actually existed.
According to the New Testament, John the Baptist was a prophet and
fiery preacher who lived in the mountains between Jerusalem and the
Dead Sea. A contemporary of Jesus, John called on people to repent
of their sins, after which he would baptize them in the Jordan
River.
The cave, which is located on the grounds of Kibbutz Tsuba just
outside Jerusalem, is "about an hour's donkey ride from Ein Kerem,
the village where Christian tradition says John was born," Gibson
says.
It is also on the edge of the Judean desert, where John was known to
hold spiritual retreats.
The cave is located on the side of a mountain in an area covered in
pine forests, close to a riverbed in a steepsided valley where the
kibbutz maintains an olive grove.
It was the kibbutzniks themselves who in 1999 first alerted Gibson
to the existence of the cave, which had been hidden behind a mass of
vegetation for years.
A field archaeologist with an air of Indiana Jones about him, Gibson
crawled through a hole into the cave, which was filled with rocks
and earth.
He decided to start excavating after discovering a crudely-drawn
picture of John the Baptist carved into the limestone walls "dressed
in camel hair robes" as described in the Gospel of Matthew.
Several crosses and a rough drawing of a severed head were also
carved into the walls, illustrating John's death by beheading at the
hands of Herod Antipas, ruler of the northern Galilee region at the
time.
Underneath the picture of John is a small niche "designed for a
relic", Gibson explains.
"These drawings are the work of Byzantine monks who used to gather
in the cave to tell the history of John the Baptist," he said,
pointing out an area around the eyes where vandals, or iconoclasts,
had tried to destroy the pictures.
Excavations, which took place between 2000 and 2003 in conjunction
with a team from the University of North Carolina, revealed a space
some 24 metres (yards) long, 4.5 metres wide and four metres high,
with 18 huge steps leading down to a large rectangular pool.
"Its use for baptism rituals dates back to the Iron Age, the era of
the kings of Judea," he said.
"We discovered tens of thousands of shards from clay pitchers with
one handle, each about 30 centimetres tall, which dated back to the
era of John the Baptist," he said.
"Unlike the baptism rituals practised in the Jewish religion, which
were individual and dealt with the purification of the body, those
practised by the disciples of John were collective and dealt with
the purification of the heart," he said.
Just outside the entrance, further excavations revealed several huge
pools for collecting rainwater which fed the main pool inside --
only water "from heaven" being suitable for the sacred baptism
ritual.
"Once the disciple came out of the ritual bath, he would place his
right foot in a notch cut out of the rock, where they would pour oil
on it, a ritual which sanctified his taking a new path," Gibson
explains.
John the Baptist's cave, which has been restored by Kibbutz Tsuba,
will be opened to the public early next year.