Jerusalem Dec. 26 (U.S.): Excavations in a cave reputed to be the burial place of Salome, who was said in canonical scripture to have nursed newborn Jesus, have found more signs of it being an important Jewish burial site and Christian pilgrimage site, archaeologists say.
The Book of James, among the early Christian writings called the Apochrypha that was not included in the Bible, describes Salome as questioning the virgin birth account. In her arms, she took up the child, declared him “a great king… born of Israel,” and was healed.
Work on outfitting the 2,000-year-old cave for public access has revealed a 350-square-meter (3,767-square-foot) forecourt whose stone slabs and mosaic floors correspond to a family tomb of prominent Jews, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) reports.
Also found were inscriptions – some in Arabic – and ornate oil lamps consistent with the site that served Christian pilgrims, including until the ninth century after the Muslim conquest of the area, according to the Antiquities Authority.
The site, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) southwest of Bethlehem, has been known for generations as Salome’s Cave.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said previous excavations had found Jewish artifacts, “but the surprise was the adaptation of the cave into a Christian church.” “Proceeding from the crosses and dozens of inscriptions carved on the walls of the caves in the Byzantine and early Islamic times, the chapel is dedicated to Saint Salome.”
HF