Another wonderful archaeological find:
Archaeologists discover one of the oldest Christian churches in huge breakthrough
German archaeologists believe they have discovered one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.
The archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the University of Münster in Germany found the church at the Artaxata site in the Ararat Plain.
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The archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the University of Münster in Germany found the church at the Artaxata site in the Ararat Plain.
“The team excavated parts of the church and studied it using geophysical methods. Typologically, the find corresponds to early Christian memorial buildings. In the cross-shaped extensions, the researchers discovered the remains of wooden platforms, which were radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century AD,” the press release added.
If the suspected date of the building is correct, it would be in the range of the oldest church buildings, dating back to the third and fourth centuries.
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“The 4th century building is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country – sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia,” the University of Münster Professor Achim Lichtenberger said in a statement.
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And there was another recent ancient find:
Archaeologists discover human remains under Indiana Jones’ Holy Grail site
In the heart of the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, a monument known as Khaznah, or the Treasury, stands tall. Beneath it, archaeologists have unearthed a previously unknown tomb containing 12 human skeletons and artifacts estimated to be around 2,000 years old.
The city, carved into pink sandstone cliffs, has been a site of intrigue since the discovery of two tombs beneath the Treasury in 2003, leading experts to speculate about what else might be hidden. Petra, recognized as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
Its most notable pop culture reference is its depiction as the location of the Holy Grail in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade….
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One item, held in the hand of a skeleton, bore a striking resemblance to the Holy Grail. Reflecting on the discovery, Gates said: “It really was this awesome moment of history imitating art.”
Researchers have hailed the finding as an extraordinary window into the lives of ancient Arabian nomads, with Gates adding: “This is a hugely rare discovery – in the two centuries that Petra has been investigated by archaeologists, nothing like this has been found before.
“Even in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world…there are still huge discoveries to be made.”
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