Ongoing excavations in southwestern Türkiye have uncovered an ancient sarcophagus, allegedly belonging to Saint Nicholas, the historical figure whose gift-giving and generosity inspired the legend of Santa Claus. The church, eponymously titled St. Nicholas Church, in Demre, Antalya, was built near his burial site as a form of allegiance after the Bishop of Myra had died in 343 AD. The discovery has been made just over 35 years since excavations began in 1989.
The site has been included in Türkiye’s “Legacy for the Future” project by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
St. Nicholas Church, Demre, Antalya. (Sinan Şahin/CC BY 3.0)
Return of the Mummy: Detailing the Sarcophagus and St. Nicholas’ Church
“In one of the sondage excavations within the two-story annex that borders the church’s courtyard to the south, we discovered a sarcophagus. This was an unexpected but delightful development for our team”, explained associate professor Ebru Fatma Fındık of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, leader of the excavations, to Daily Sabah.
Focusing on the two-storey annex of the church, the team discovered early basilica phases in 2022. The sarcophagus was found in this area, crafted from local limestone, with a slightly raised lid, ‘gabled’ roof shape, and is approximately 2 meters (6.5 feet) long. Buried within, the underground section, it extends to 1.5 to 2 meters (4.9-6.5 feet) deep, similar dimensions to other sarcophagi in the region. Till now, just this lid, and a tiny portion of the sarcophagus have been worked on.
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“Our biggest hope is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus. This would help clarify the burial contents and allow us to determine the exact period it dates from. While the lid of the sarcophagus has been uncovered, only a small section of the burial chamber has been exposed, and further excavation is expected to reveal more details in the coming months,” added Findik.
En route to finding the sarcophagus, the team found animal bones and bits of terracotta oil lamps, indicating the use of the area as a burial site. Only further analysis and critical research will yield insights into the church’s history, and draw a connection to the revered saint.
“There have been various hypotheses regarding St. Nicholas’s burial site, and its exact location remains uncertain,” said Fındık.
“Some historical sources suggest that he was buried near the sacred precinct of Myra. Discovering a sarcophagus near the church believed to house his remains strengthens the possibility that this area might indeed be that sacred precinct.”
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The Charity of Saint Nicholas, oil painting. (Wellcome Images/CC BY 4.0)
Who Was St. Nicholas?
The early Christian bishop of Greek descent hailed from the maritime city of Myra, Asia Minor. Legends and myths have attributed many miracles to his intercession, but he was likely a figure renowned for his generosity and practice of gift-giving, from where Santa Claus and Sinterklaas emerge from. Much after his death, Byzantine emperor Theodosius II ordered the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas, where Nicholas served as bishop, reports The Heritage Daily.
His body would travel the world, so to speak. Exhumed and interred in the church initially, the remains were transported and taken to the Basicila di San Nicola in Bari, Southern Italy by the 11th century AD. During the First Crusade, Venetian sailors rescued these remains and took them to Venice, enshrining them in the San Nicolò al Lido monastery basilica.
However, in 1953, when an inspection was carried out of the remains in both Bari and Venice, it turned out that they lacked the authenticity to verify whether these belonged to Nicholas or not. So maybe, the mystery deepens – it was never his remains that were transported around the world after all!
Top image: Sarcophagus discovered near the original burial place of Saint Nicholas at the Church of St. Nicholas. Source: Turkish Ministry of Culture
By Sahir Pandey
Source: www.ancient-origins.net