The sarcophagus of Santa Claus and other ancient religious relics are among the great discoveries of 2024.
During the year 2024, many rare discoveries were made around the world.
The public could see some religious relics that highlighted historical moments, giving people a better understanding of the time period they came from.
Check out some of the notable pieces below.
“Santa Claus” sarcophagus
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey believes that their team may have discovered a sarcophagus belonging to Saint Nicholas. (iStock | Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey)
A team of archaeologists may have unearthed a sarcophagus containing the remains of Saint Nicholas, whose spirit of generosity is still celebrated in the modern world more than 1,600 years later.
“We believe we have come across a sarcophagus in situ (original position) for the first time,” said Associate Professor Ebru Fatma Findik, who is leading the excavation team through Hatay Mustafa Kemal University’s Department of Art History.
THE ‘SANTA’ SARCOPHAGUS IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED DURING AN EXCAVATION PROJECT
The discovery was made in the Church of Saint Nicholas in the Demre district of Antalya, Turkeyas part of the excavations initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Mosaic of Megiddo
The Megiddo mosaic is one of the earliest physical evidences showing Christian practices. (Museum of the Bible)
The Museum of the Bible in the country’s capital opened an exhibition in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), giving visitors a glimpse of early Christianity in the Holy Land.
Entitled “The Megiddo Mosaic: Foundations of Faith,” the exhibit showcases the IAA’s archaeological find, which dates back to the third century, and is on display for the first time since it was found.
The mosaic was part of the floor of the oldest Christian place of worship ever discovered from the third century, according to officials at the Museum of the Bible (MOTB).
“The mosaic represents revolutionary physical evidence of practice and belief early Christiansincluding the first archaeological example of the phrase ‘God Jesus Christ,'” Alegre Savariego, curator of the exhibition on behalf of the IAA, said in a statement.
The exhibition opened to the public in September and is on display until July.
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Early evidence of Christianity
Experts recently decoded and published the earliest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps found in a third-century grave. (Archaeological Museum Frankfurt)
The earliest known proof of Christianity north of Italy was recently discovered by archaeologists, who call this discovery one of the “most important testimonies of early Christianity”.
The artifact, released by the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum, is called the Frankfurt Silver Inscription.
The Frankfurt silver inscription is an engraving on silver foil consisting of 18 lines written in Latin. Dated between 230 and 260 AD, it was discovered wrapped in a small silver amulet.
The inscription begins: “In the name of Saint Titus, holy, holy, holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!”
Saint Titus was a Christian missionary from the first century and a disciple of Paul the Apostle. The inscription also calls for an amulet to protect “the man who surrenders to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God.”
“And the heavenly, and the earthly, and the underground, and every tongue confesses (Jesus Christ),” the text concludes.
The inscription, written in Latin, took several weeks to decipher due to its poor condition. Archaeologists had to “digitally unroll” the silver foil that had been crumpled for about 1,800 years.
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Museum officials told Fox News Digital, “The silver sign is now part of the museum’s permanent display.”
The oldest Christian churches
The church was found in a rural part of Armenia. (Armenian-German Artaxata project)
Archaeologists have recently discovered what they believe to be one of the the oldest Christian churches in the world.
The University of Münster has announced the discovery of a fourth-century church located in Germany.
The remains of an ancient Christian building were found at the site of Artaxata in the Ararat Plain.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED ONE OF THE OLDEST CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN THE WORLD
The octagonal church at Artaxata had a floor of plaster and terracotta tiles, and was about 100 feet in diameter.
“The 4th-century building is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country — sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia,” Professor Achim Lichtenberger of the University of Münster said in a statement.
“The city developed into an important metropolis in the Hellenistic period and was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for almost six centuries,” the school’s statement explained.
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Fox News Digital’s Gretchen Eichenberg and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
