The sarcophagus is made of local limestone and was found sealed. It is about two meters long and was found buried one and a half to two meters underground, inside a burial chamber. “During the drilling work, we came across a surprising sarcophagus,” said the head of the excavation, Professor Ebru Fatma Fidik
A major archaeological discovery was made during excavations in Antalya, Turkey, after a sarcophagus believed to be that of Saint Nicholas, the Orthodox “Santa Claus”. The church being excavated is believed to have been built after the death of Saint Nicholas and Bishop Myro, the saint who inspired the legend of “Santa Claus”, near his burial site. It is worth noting that Myra was an ancient city of Lycia in Asia Minor, on the site of the present-day small town of Demre. The investigations were carried out, according to Anadolu , within the framework of the “Heritage for the Future” program initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The sarcophagus is made of local limestone and was found sealed. It is about two meters long and was found buried one and a half to two meters underground, inside a burial chamber. “During the drilling work, we came across a surprising sarcophagus,” said the head of the excavations, Professor Ebru Fatma Fidik.
She noted that before finding the sarcophagus, they had found animal bones and therefore believe that it was a burial site. “Our greatest hope is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus,” Fidik noted, explaining that such a discovery “will allow us to shed light inside the sarcophagus and we will be able to find out to which period the sarcophagus belongs.” Underlining that the discovered sarcophagus is an important find for the history of the region and the world of science, Fidik noted that one of the biggest goals of the project is to shed light on questions about the burial of Saint Nicholas, which is a very important element of cultural heritage for the Christian world.
“According to research, Agios Nikolaos was buried somewhere near the sacred area of ​​the city of Myron,” he said. Agios Nikolaos is an early Christian bishop of Greek origin. He is venerated by all Christian faiths that venerate saints. He was born on March 15, 270 AD in Patara, Turkey, and died on December 6, 343 AD, in Myra, Turkey.
