Press
Researchers make a sensational discovery in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A legacy is hidden behind a supposed graffiti stone slab.
Jerusalem – Exciting discoveries are constantly being made that provide insights into times long past. For example, recent finds from the Nazi era can help us understand the everyday lives of people back then. Researchers have also been amazed by a sensation in Israel’s capital Jerusalem.
Behind graffiti stone slab: Researchers make surprising accidental discovery in Jerusalem
The find came to light in the famous Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to tradition, Jesus was crucified and buried at this place. In the back part of the church, a massive stone slab was leaning on which visitors had immortalized themselves with graffiti, according to a notice of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). During construction work, the plate had to be turned, which revealed the artistically decorated front of an old marble altar.
Specifically, it is a high altar that has been missing for centuries. “We know of pilgrimage reports from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries about a magnificent marble altar in Jerusalem,” explained ÖAW historian Ilya Berkovich. After a devastating fire in the church in 1808, the Crusader altar was thought to have disappeared – “at least that was what people thought for a long time,” said the historian.
“It was completely unexpected for everyone involved that something so significant went unnoticed for so long at this very spot,” explained Berkovich. And this despite the fact that thousands of visitors make pilgrimages to the memorial every day. The church is considered the greatest shrine of Christianity.
“It is phenomenal”: Researchers amazed by sensational discovery in Church of the Holy Sepulchre
“With an original width of more than 3.5 meters, we have discovered the largest medieval altar currently known,” it continued. “Nobody expected to discover anything else here. It is phenomenal,” said the historian of the Small newspaper.
According to the researchers, the decorations on the high altar are based on a special manufacturing technique – the so-called Cosmatesque. The corresponding marble work was mastered exclusively by artists in Rome, which is why there is only one Cosmatesque work of art outside of Italy. According to the researchers, the altar was probably commissioned by the Pope personally. It therefore represents proof of “a previously unknown connection between Rome and Jerusalem”.
NASA researchers recently made a surprising discovery in a rock sample from the asteroid “Bennu”. (cheese)
#Researchers #accidentally #discover #sensational #find #Church #Holy #Sepulchre