archaeologist

KOMPAS. com – Archaeologist they dug a cave believed to be the burial place of Salome, the midwife Jesus in the hills southwest of Jerusalem, Israel.

Reported by AP NewsTuesday (12/20/2022), this Jewish burial cave complex dates back to the 1st century AD

However, later this complex was attributed by local Christians as the burial place of Salome, which is regarded as midwife Jesus.

Read also: Israel Excavation of the tomb complex for the midwives who helped birth Jesus Christ, this is what it looks like

in the excavations, archaeologist found several artifacts, including hundreds of clay oil lamps dating back to the 8th-9th century AD The oil lamps are believed to have been bought or rented by pilgrims before entering the cave.

According to archaeologists who have excavated valuable inscriptions and artifacts there, Salome’s burial site was once revered and a pilgrimage destination for early Christians.

Discovered 40 years ago

Reported by Live sciencethe cave was first discovered and excavated 40 years ago, or in 1984, by an Israeli archaeologist.

The new excavations were conducted to examine the cave forecourt, an ornate area of ​​350 square meters covered with mosaic tiles and surrounded by stone walls.

Next to the courtyard, the cave entrance is decorated with symbolic carvings of roses, pomegranates and acanthus vases.

According to a statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), an acanthus vase is a type of vase covered with the ornamental leaves of the acanthus plant, which is said to be a uniquely Jewish design.

Besides that, there are also crosses and inscriptions in Greek and Arabic carved on the walls of the cave during the Byzantine and Islamic periods which indicate that the chapel was dedicated to Salome.

It is known that Christian pilgrims visited the cave during the Byzantine era i.e. in the 5th century AD

But, say the IAA researchers, evidence suggests that wealthy Jewish families originally used the caves for burials about 2,000 years ago.

Read also: Archaeologists reveal Jesus’ childhood home in Nazareth, here’s the condition

Of the midwife of Jesus

The story of the midwife Salome is told in the Gospel of James, which is considered apocryphal by Christians, which means that its authenticity is doubtful and does not appear in the New Testament.

Salome is largely unknown to Western Christians today, but she is revered by early Christians and is depicted as the midwife at the birth of Jesus on many Eastern Orthodox icons.

The story in the Gospel of James relates that Salome was the companion of another unnamed midwife at the time of Jesus’ birth.

But her hands dried up when she refused to believe Jesus’ mother was a virgin, and she was healed only after touching the baby’s cradle.

Salome’s Cave itself consists of several rooms with several rock-cut kokhim (burial niches) and a broken ossuary, which attests to original Jewish burial customs.

However, archaeologists were surprised that the site had become an early Christian chapel and pilgrimage center.

“Salome is a mysterious figure,” the researchers said in the statement.

“The cult of Salome, which is sacred in Christianity, belongs to the larger phenomenon in which fifth-century AD Christian pilgrims encountered and consecrated Jewish sites,” he continued.

Place of pilgrimage

AP/Maya Alleruzzo Interior of a 2000-year-old Second Temple period burial cave called Salome’s Cave that was recently discovered in the Forest of Lachish in Israel on Tuesday (20/12/2022). Archaeologists say the cave continued in use into the Byzantine and early Islamic periods, it is known as Salome’s Cave, because popular tradition identifies it as the burial place of Salome, the midwife of Jesus.

Christian pilgrimages to Salome’s cave continued until at least the 9th century AD, during the area’s Islamic period.

Many of the clay oil lamps discovered in the new excavations date back to the 8th and 9th centuries, archaeologists note.

The team also discovered rows of stalls in the cave’s courtyard that sold or rented lamps to pilgrims, presumably so they could venture into the dark interior.

“The lamps may have served to illuminate caves, or as part of a religious ceremony, similar to the candles distributed today at the graves of devout figures and in churches,” said Nir Shimshon-Paran and Zvi Firer, directors of excavations at the IAA. Southern Region.

Although the cave has been closed to the public since its discovery, Salome’s cave will open its doors once the current excavations are completed.

The cave will be part of the Judean Kings Trail, a 100km route through southern Israel that features dozens of important archaeological sites.

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