Archaeologists working on an excavation in the 1,350-year-old Balatlar Church in Turkey may have found a piece of Jesus Christ's cross. The piece of wood was found in a stone chest that contained other relics associated with the crucifixion, reports say.
Archaeologist Gülgün Köroğlu from the Mimar Sinan University who has been working with other archaeologists on the excavation project since 2009 says, "We have found a holy thing in a chest. It is a piece of a cross." Köroğlu adds, "This stone chest is very important to us. It has a history and is the most important artifact we have unearthed so far."
While the archaeologists believe that the chest is owned by an important member of the church, they were not able to pinpoint who the actual owner of the chest was. The stone chest was unearthed from the ruins of the seventh century Balatlar Church in Sinop - an ancient coastal city located on the shores of the Black Sea.
Lab tests are still being done to shed light to the mysterious piece of wood but NBC notes that a number of religious groups have claimed to have the same relic. Sixteenth century theologian John Calvin noted that many pieces of Jesus Christ's have been found by many people in centuries past, and that if the pieces were stored in the same location, there would be so many that it would fill up a ship.
Although the relics found by Köroğlu and her colleagues are facing a lot of criticism from the media, a Vibe news reporter says, "The archaeologists may have struck religious gold."
Jesus Christ, deemed as the son of God in the Christian world and the only messiah, is believed by the devout to have saved the world from its sins through his crucifixion.
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