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Turkish Archaeologists Uncover Possible Tomb of Saint Nicholas in Antalya

posted by mrpg on Thursday October 05 2017, @12:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the tomb-as-cold-as-north-pole dept.

takyon writes:

Santa is real dead:

Turkish archaeologists have dashed the hopes of millions of children by claiming to have uncovered the likely burial place of Saint Nicholas.

Surveys have uncovered an intact temple and burial grounds below St Nicholas church in the province of Antalya, where he is believed to have been born, archaeologists told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. "We have obtained very good results but the real work starts now," said Cemil Karabayram, the director of surveying and monuments in Antalya. "We will reach the ground and maybe we will find the untouched body of Saint Nicholas."

Revered for his gift-giving and aid to the poor, the 4th-century saint gave rise to the legend of Santa Claus. In recent years, the church in Demre district in Antalya, near his birthplace, has been restored and draws many visitors. Demre is built on the ruins of Myra, the city where Saint Nicholas, revered by many denominations in Christianity, is believed to have lived.

Also at CNET.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:19AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:19AM (#577327)

    The Dutch tradition goes back at least to around 1665: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feast_of_Saint_Nicholas [wikipedia.org] (great painter BTW, his work is pretty funny and there is a lot to discover in his paintings).

    Not sure if there are older, reliable sources.

  • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Thursday October 05 2017, @07:52AM (1 child)

    by inertnet (4071) on Thursday October 05 2017, @07:52AM (#577348) Journal

    It goes way back further, a version existed even before Christianity: .

    As happened everywhere, when christened, the locals molded their original gods and ghosts to fit into their new religion. That becomes very clear if you visit different countries, in many places people still fear ancient local witches and ghosts and the like. For instance, some non Christian witch is often held responsible for stillbirths. For the uninformed, a stillbirth is proof that the witch really exists.