Burial Ground Of The Midwife Of Jesus Unveils Treasures

IFL Science

Much of history has yet to be uncovered. And since time immemorial, people have been curious about the wonderful life Jesus has lived. He is, by far, the most historical figure that millions of people follow, be it for religious purposes or simply out of sheer curiosity.

Unfortunately, many have searched for clues and haven’t found much. Right now, there could be a tomb that will reveal much of what happened during Jesus’ time. The world could know more about this famous and venerated man and the people who knew him.

Recent excavations happened in Israel and what they found they will soon open to the public. This is a tomb that’s revered because this is thought to be the resting place of the midwife of Jesus, and her name was Salome.

The tomb was discovered in 1982 by antiquities robbers. Even then, excavations were already happening, but recent discoveries show that this is bigger than what they first thought. Because of this, most of the areas of the tomb will be opened to both pilgrims and tourists.


In the area is a mosaic-floored courtyard that spans to around 350 square meters (almost 4,000 square feet). This is considered to be one of the best in the latest discoveries. Inside is a tomb that was decorated with high arches and very detailed stone carvings.

The team from the Israeli Antiquities Authority also saw what seemed to be a merchant’s stall. This served as a place where they sold small oil lamps to pilgrims. The archeologists in the area have dug up dozens inside the tomb. These lamps lit the path as they walked through the interior portions of the room that went further inside.

The earliest chamber dated back to as far as the Second Temple Period, which was said to be around 500 BCE and 70 CE. “According to a Christian tradition, Salome was the midwife from Bethlehem, who was called to participate in the birth of Jesus,” said Zvi Firer, an IAA archaeologist.

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“She could not believe that she was asked to deliver a virgin’s baby, and her hand became dry and was only healed when she held the baby’s cradle.”

In the outermost rooms of the tomb, these go back to the Byzantine period, which was around 300 to 600 CE. During Salome’s time, this was a little on the ostentatious side. However, Firer also came up with a theory for that.

In the excavations they made recently, they still uncovered more relics. These were revealed so recently. Such findings were stone funerary boxes called ossuaries. These were found in the older chambers. Firer believes these bore the name of Salome or “Schlomitt” on them. This actually tricked the early Christian pilgrims to believe it was part of the midwife of legend.


That’s because the name was common among the Jews that lived there during the Second Temple Period. However, they also found inscriptions written in Greek that implied that the entire complex was dedicated to “Holy Salome.” This made them think that there may have been some truth to the legend.

The site is found in the Lachish region in central Israel. This will soon be made to be a part of a 60-mile tourist trail that is part of the historic spine of Israeli history, which is a Valley of the Kings. This, of course, applied to the Jews instead of the Pharaohs.

 

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