By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/archaeologists-excavate-jesuss-midwife-tomb-in-israel Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Archaeologists excavate ‘Jesus’s midwife’ tomb in Israel Science Dec 20, 2022 3:21 PM EDT JERUSALEM (AP) — An ancient tomb traditionally associated with Jesus’s midwife is being excavated anew by archaeologists in the hills southwest of Jerusalem, the antiquities authority said Tuesday. The intricately decorated Jewish burial cave complex dates to around the first century A.D., but it was later associated by local Christians with Salome, the midwife of Jesus in the Gospels. A Byzantine chapel was built at the site, which was a place of pilgrimage and veneration for centuries thereafter. READ MORE: Unlocking the oldest known DNA revealed a ‘lost’ Greenland from 2 million years ago The cave was first found and excavated decades ago by an Israeli archaeologist. The cave’s large forecourt is now under excavation by archaeologists as part of a heritage trail development project in the region. A man holds a clay lamp that, according to The Israel Antiquities Authority, was discovered near the 2,000-year-old burial cave of Jesus’s midwife, Salome, and may have been used as part of religious ceremonies in the Lachish Forest in Israel. Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters Crosses and inscriptions in Greek and Arabic carved in the cave walls during the Byzantine and Islamic periods indicate that the chapel was dedicated to Salome. Pilgrims would “rent oil lamps, enter into the cave, used to pray, come out in give back the oil lamp,” said Ziv Firer, director of the excavation. “We found tens of them, with beautiful decorations of plants and flowers.” By — Associated Press Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — An ancient tomb traditionally associated with Jesus’s midwife is being excavated anew by archaeologists in the hills southwest of Jerusalem, the antiquities authority said Tuesday. The intricately decorated Jewish burial cave complex dates to around the first century A.D., but it was later associated by local Christians with Salome, the midwife of Jesus in the Gospels. A Byzantine chapel was built at the site, which was a place of pilgrimage and veneration for centuries thereafter. READ MORE: Unlocking the oldest known DNA revealed a ‘lost’ Greenland from 2 million years ago The cave was first found and excavated decades ago by an Israeli archaeologist. The cave’s large forecourt is now under excavation by archaeologists as part of a heritage trail development project in the region. A man holds a clay lamp that, according to The Israel Antiquities Authority, was discovered near the 2,000-year-old burial cave of Jesus’s midwife, Salome, and may have been used as part of religious ceremonies in the Lachish Forest in Israel. Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters Crosses and inscriptions in Greek and Arabic carved in the cave walls during the Byzantine and Islamic periods indicate that the chapel was dedicated to Salome. Pilgrims would “rent oil lamps, enter into the cave, used to pray, come out in give back the oil lamp,” said Ziv Firer, director of the excavation. “We found tens of them, with beautiful decorations of plants and flowers.”