John the Baptist's cave found in Israel

KIBBUTZ TZUBA, Israel: Archaeologists said on Monday they have found a cave where they believe John the Baptist anointed many of his disciples — a huge cistern with 28 steps leading to an underground pool of water.


During an exclusive tour of the cave, archaeologists presented ancient wall carvings they said tell the story of the fiery New Testament preacher, as well as a stone they believe was used for ceremonial foot washing.

They also pulled about 250,000 pottery shards from the cave, the apparent remnants of small water jugs used in baptismal ritual. ''John the Baptist, who was just a figure from the Gospels, now comes to life,'' said British archaeologist Shimon Gibson, who supervised the dig outside Jerusalem.

However, others said there was no actual proof that John the Baptist ever set foot in the cave. ''Unfortunately, we didn't find any inscriptions,'' said James Tabor, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Both Tabor and Gibson said it was very likely that the wall carvings, including one showing a man with a staff and wearing animal skin, told the story of John the Baptist. The carvings stem from the Byzantine period and apparently were made by monks in the fourth or fifth century.

Gibson said he believed the monks commemorated John at a site linked to him by local tradition. Gibson said the carvings, the foot washing stone and other finds, taken together with the proximity of John's hometown, constituted strong circumstantial evidence that the cave was used by John.

John, a contemporary of Jesus who also preached a message of redemption, is one of the most important figures in Christianity. The discovery, if confirmed, would be among the most significant breakthroughs for biblical scholars in memory.

Gibson said the cave — 24m long, around 4m wide and 4m deep — was carved in the Iron Age, somewhere between 800 and 500 BC, by Israelites who apparently used it as an immersion pool.

– Courtesy : AP.