St John The Baptist’s Remains Found In Bulgaria, Archaeologists Claim
August 7th, 2010 - 7:02 pm ICT by GDBy Gina Gomez
Aug 7, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Bulgarian archaeologists have claimed that they have discovered the remains of St John the Baptist while they were in the process of excavating the site of a fifth century monastery situated on Sveti Ivan Island in Bulgaria. Archaeologists have revealed that after the urn that was found last week beneath the basilica of the monastery, was opened on Sunday, they came across fragments of bones, skull, an arm as well as a tooth in the reliquary.
Kazimir Popkonstantinov, the archaeologists who has been leading the excavation project has revealed that he has not doubt that the relics are that of St John the Baptist as a Greek inscription was engraved on the casque which refers to June 24, the exact date when the imminent religious figure is believed to have been born. While divulging details of the excavation, Bulgarian minister Bozhidar Dimitrov stated that the relics that have been discovered are believed to be the remains of St John the Baptist and the relics turned out to be exactly the way the archaeologists had expected them to be.
Nevertheless, some experts have raised questions about the authenticity of the claims made by the Bulgarian archaeologists and have emphasized that carbon-dating techniques need to be undertaken to determine whether the relics are actually that of St John the Baptist. As of now it still remains unclear that how did the relics make its way into the island. Bozhidar Dimitrov, however, has said that the might have been donated by Constantinople’s Christian Church when the country of Bulgaria remained as a part of the Byzantine Empire.
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Tags: archaeologists, authenticity, basilica, byzantine empire, casque, constantinople, excavation project, fifth century, fragments, gina gomez, greek inscription, ivan island, john the baptist, kazimir, monastery, relics, religious figure, st john the baptist, sveti ivan, urn