The tomb of the midwife of Jesus in Israel is set to be opened by archaeologists as part of the events to mark the festive period, according to the early church apocryphal.
The Christian Post reports that researchers recently discovered the site and it is said to be a venerated holy site. It is situated in a cave at the Lachish Forest, known as the Cave of Salome and located about 20 miles from Bethlehem.
Salome is said to be the name of the midwife of Jesus. Judean Kings’ Trail Project, led by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Jewish National Fund, and the Ministry for Jerusalem and Heritage, excavated the site.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the excavation site has a burial site, a courtyard with shops stalls where clay clamps can be sold to visiting pilgrims.
In a statement, excavation directors in the IAA’s southern region, Nir Shimshon-Paran and Zvi Firer, spoke about the burial site. They said, “In the shop, we found hundreds of complete and broken lamps dating from the eighth and ninth centuries.
“The lamps may have served to light up the cave, or as part of the religious ceremonies like the candles distributed today at the graves of righteous figures and in churches.”
The IAA director of the Judean Kings’ Trail Project, Saar Ganor, was quoted as saying that “once the restoration and development works are completed, the forecourt and the cave will be opened to the public.
“It is noteworthy that the court leading into burial caves was usually hewn out of the rock, and not elaborately built of ashlar masonry as this forecourt.”
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