Tomb of Syrian Monks Who Brought Relics of St. John Baptist to Bulgaria Discovered
October 15, 2015 (Source: http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com)
[Originally reported on Oct. 11]
The two human skeletons discovered recently in an Early Christian tomb on the St. Ivan (St. John) Island in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgarian resort Sozopol most probably belonged toSyrian monks who brought with them the relics of St. John the Baptist found on the same island in 2010.
The two human skeletons and a ram skeleton were discovered in August 2015 by Bulgarian archaeologist Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov inside the Early Christian tomb on the St. Ivan Island off the coast of the town of Sozopol (the same island where relics of St. John the Baptistwere found in the summer of 2010) which was found and opened in mid July 2015.
Popkonstantinov has revealed his latest conclusions about the 2015 summer discoveries that he has made amidst the ruins of the Early Christian monastery “St. John the Baptist” on the St. Ivan Island now that the summer excavations have been completed, and the skeletons have beenexamined by anthropologists, reports the Bulgarian daily 24 Chasa.
The archaeologist has been excavating the Early Christian monastery for several years now; he made global headlines back in 2010 with the discovery of relics of St. John the Baptist; the fact thatthe relics belonged to a Middle Eastern man who lived in the 1st century AD has been confirmed by the analysis of scholars from Oxford University.