Church dig in Turkey yields Byzantine relics

Archaeologists conducting excavations at the Byzantine church of Balatlar in the Black Sea province of Sinop (Greek Sinope) have unearthed a stone chest with objects said to have a connection with Jesus Christ.

Part of the stone-chest found at the site [Credit: IHA]

“We have found a holy thing in a chest. It is a piece of a cross, and we think it was [part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified]. This stone chest is very important to us. It has a history and is the most important artifact we have unearthed so far,” said the head of the excavations, Professor Gülgün Köroğlu.

A number of human skeletons were unearthed during the excavations [Credit: DHA]

“During the excavations, we have seen many things that we didn’t know about before. Sinop has gained a very good ancient site that we will show visitors,” Köroğlu said, adding that they had discovered the skeletons of over 1,000 people during the four years of excavations.

The works are continuing as part of an EU-funded Field Management Project, she said.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [August 01, 2013]