After years of excavation work, the leader of an archeological expedition at the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey, announced this week that her team has found a sarcophagus that may contain the body of St. Nick — a discovery that could muddy the conventional wisdom about the true resting place of the saint’s relics, which is currently believed to be Italy.
In a recent interview, the leader of the expedition, Professor Ebru Fatma Fındık, said that sources point to Turkey’s southern Antalya Province as Nicholas’ resting place after his death, which took place in the 340s.
She said that after an earthquake in the region in 529, archeologists believe the Church of St. Nicholas, long a popular pilgrimage site, especially for Russian Orthodox Christians, “may have been built near the burial place of the saint.”
In another interview, Fındık speculated that the sarcophagus, “the first sarcophagus unearthed in the church” after drilling work began in 2022, could have been covered by gravel and sand from a flood or tsunami, which she says is why it is so well preserved.
Turkish claims to the resting place of St. Nicholas are not new — in fact, Turkish officials have admitted for years that if they can prove that St. Nicholas is buried there, “tourism will gain big momentum.” The present excavations at the church were initiated by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
“We have been carrying out excavations in the church for months … During our drilling work in the two-story building that borders the courtyard of the church from the south, we came across a sarcophagus” that they believe belongs to St. Nicholas, Fındık said.
“Geologists related to this subject will come soon, and they will actually investigate and examine it,” she said.
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Prepared and updated by:
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Penampang, Sabah Malaysia.
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