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Archaeologists May Have Found The Burial Site Of St. Matthew

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Rachel Stoltzfoos Staff Reporter
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Siberian archaeologists discovered a 2,500-year-old settlement now underwater in a Kyrgyzstan lake, which may be where Jesus’ disciple Matthew was finally buried.

University divers dug up 200 artifacts from the ancient ruin 23 meters below the northeastern surface of Lake Issyk-Kul, reported The Siberian Times. One piece of a large ceramic pot the divers lifted out of the water lends support to a theory that Matthew’s burial site is nearby.

The ceramic piece has a stamp on it written in Armenian and Syrian scripts, which suggests the artifacts are the remains of an Armenian monastery believed to have existed on the shore of the lake in Medieval times. A 14th-century map indicates that monastery as the burial site of Matthew.

He was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and is traditionally believed to have died a martyr while preaching the Gospel near present-day Egypt.

Some orthodox Christians believe his followers hid his body and then buried it on the beach at the monastery, but many other Christians believe he was buried in Italy, at the Salerno Cathedral dedicated to him.

“Experts are now working on the identification of the writings on the stamps, but it’s supposed to be Armenian-Syrian script,” the diving team leader, Dmitry Gorn, told reporters in reference to the ceramic piece he called “truly unique.”

“If that proves to be correct, it will be further evidence that there was an Armenian monastery on Issyk-Kul in 14th century where, according to the legends, relics of Matthew were stored.”

The depth of the lake, which is the tenth largest in the world, has changed over the centuries, so it’s likely the discovered settlement was once on its shore. In Medieval times, the lake was 26 feet lower.

The divers used a hydraulic pump, metal detectors and other appliances to dig up scores of artifacts, including whetstones for sharpening knives, traces of casting production and other pieces of ceramics.

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