Turkey: Archaeologists claim to have discovered the tomb of «Santa Claus» under a Byzantine church

The grave of Santa Claus, they believe they have discovered archaeologists in the area Demre in Antalya of Turkey (in ancient Myra of Lycia), under Byzantine church of St. Nicholas. So they believe that now they have found the grave of St. Nicholas, namely St. which was the Source : inspiration of the modern «Santa Claus».

Although so far the historians believed that the remains were found as early as 1087 and Transferred in Italy. But now Turkish archaeologists express the viewpoint that the tomb had never been found and they discovered it under the ruins of the Basilica, in an older temple that had already been submerged by the Middle Ages when the sea level rose.

The Late Byzantine church built on the foundation of the ancient royal probably to protect the Saint's tomb, but recently archaeologists discovered mosaics and stone flooring from the previous sanctuary. Continuing the research they finally arrived at the tomb that they estimate belongs to the Holy Nikolaos.

This venerable figure of the church lived between 270 and 343 A.D. and remained in the History because he distributed money from his estate to the poor to give them offers a best life.

This discovery which Retrieved from from Turkish inside Information supports the claim that Saint Nicholas lived and died in Turkey. It is worth noting that according to the team of archaeologists, the saint has walked on the stone floor found hidden under the Byzantine church.

The Byzantine church built above

According to Dailymail, the Byzantine church that was built on the ancient foundations was a place of worship for orthodox Christians between the 5th and 12th centuries and inside there were statues of St. Nicholas. It was also added to the list of World Heritage Sites of the UNESCO the 1982.

The ancient «underground church» was first discovered about a year ago.2017 by scientists who were conducting searches under the church of St. Nicholas. Using electronic tools they revealed gaps between the ground and the floor of the temple.

The team had since announced that they might have found the tomb of St Nicholas, but scientists continued to work to carefully remove the floor of the byzantine church and see what's underground without causing disasters in the most modern temple.

Ο Osman Eravsar, head of the provincial council for the conservation of cultural heritage heritage in Antalya, told Demiroren news agency last week on the issue: «The first church sank with the rise of the Mediterranean and a few centuries later a new church was built over it. Now we have reached the ruins of the first church and the floor on which St. Nicholas stepped,» he noted. «The tile of the floor of the first church, on which St. Nicholas walked, has been uncovered.

The story of Santa Claus

Ο Saint Nicholas, famous for his gifts and the charity to the poor, he was born in the village of Patara to wealthy parents who died in an epidemic and left their son great property. As a devout Christian, St. Nicholas is considered to have followed the teachings of Jesus and renounced worldly goods and offered them to those in need. However, these theories are based on traditions and stories that have been passed down from generation to generation and not in historical documents.

What we know about his life is that he was bishop of Myra in the 4th century, but was imprisoned shortly afterwards by the Roman emperor Diocletian at a time when the Christians persecuted and then freed under the rule of Constantine the Great. Records show that the Saint Nicholas was buried in a church built in his name. However, the exact location of the building has always been a mystery.

The prevailing theory so far

Researchers believe that at the time of his death in 343 AD, the Saint Nicholas was buried in the church in the area Demre in Antalya, which is named after the river of the same name. Historians believe that the relics of the saint were smuggled to the Italian city of Bari by merchants in the year 1087.

However, the Turks archaeologists now claim that the wrong bones were then transported - and that the ones that went to Italy belonged to an anonymous priest.

This priest was buried in a church in the Myra of Lycia but since the 6th century they believed that it was the sanctuary of St. Nicholas. The 1087 Italians sailors or merchants stole those his remains from within the tomb and carried them to Bari of Italy.

The remains of Nicholas are kept in his basilica St. Nicholas in Bari of 11th century, although fragments have been obtained from churches all over the world.

The history of the Byzantine temple

The Byzantine church of Saint Nicholas suffered a lot of damage and was renovated several times during the 8th and 9th centuries, according to the Cultural Heritage Preservation Committee in Antalya. The organization notes that it had major reconstructions by Constantine IX in 1043 and Tsar Nicholas I in 1862, who added a tower.

The church was also flooded by the river Demre and eventually buried, until it was rediscovered in 1956 and is now a destination for many pilgrims seeking to pay homage to Saint Nicholas.