St. Paul's tomb unearthed in Rome

Discussion Open Forum
1

This is interesting.

[quote=“BBC”]Archaeologists working for the Vatican have unearthed a sarcophagus containing what they believe are the remains of St Paul the Apostle.

The tomb dates back to at least AD390 and was found in a crypt under a basilica in Rome.

It has long been thought that the crypt contained the tomb of St Paul but the altar had hidden it.
[…]
For the past three years, archaeologists have been excavating underneath the altar to remove two huge slabs of marble and now, for the first time in almost 1700 years, the sarcophagus of St Paul is on public view.

The original inscription on the top reads: Paolo Apostolo Martyr - Latin for “Paul Apostle Martyr”.
[…]
St Paul is said to have been beheaded in AD65 by the Roman Emperor Nero.

His sarcophagus will be on public view for the foreseeable future but the church is yet to rule out the possibility that one day the interior itself will be opened and examined. [/quote]

2

I’ll bet is was that shifty looking monk chap with the steel spikes strapped to his leg that found it… Well sneaky that guy… Still nothing like some good pre x-mas publicity for the Vatican eh?..

3

[quote=“Jaboney”]This is interesting.

[quote=“BBC”]Archaeologists working for the Vatican have unearthed a sarcophagus containing what they believe are the remains of St Paul the Apostle.

The tomb dates back to at least AD390 and was found in a crypt under a basilica in Rome.

It has long been thought that the crypt contained the tomb of St Paul but the altar had hidden it.
[…]
For the past three years, archaeologists have been excavating underneath the altar to remove two huge slabs of marble and now, for the first time in almost 1700 years, the sarcophagus of St Paul is on public view.

The original inscription on the top reads: Paolo Apostolo Martyr - Latin for “Paul Apostle Martyr”.
[…]
St Paul is said to have been beheaded in AD65 by the Roman Emperor Nero.

His sarcophagus will be on public view for the foreseeable future but the church is yet to rule out the possibility that one day the interior itself will be opened and examined. [/quote][/quote]

they wouldn’t want what they present as FACTS being debunked now would they? :laughing:

4

[quote=“dablindfrog”]they wouldn’t want what they present as FACTS being debunked now would they? :laughing:[/quote]A rather cheap and juvenile shot, IMO.
[url=http://www.religionnewsblog.com/16756/remains-of-st-paul-may-have-been-found]ROME — Vatican archaeologists have unearthed a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul that had been buried beneath Rome’s second largest basilica.

The sarcophagus, which dates back to at least A.D. 390, has been the subject of an extended excavation that began in 2002 and was completed last month, the project’s head said this week.

“Our objective was to bring the remains of the tomb back to light for devotional reasons, so that it could be venerated and be visible,” said Giorgio Filippi, the Vatican archaeologist who headed the project at St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica.

The interior of the sarcophagus has not yet been explored, but Filippi didn’t rule out the possibility of doing so in the future.

Two ancient churches that once stood at the site of the current basilica were successively built over the spot where tradition said the saint had been buried. The second church, built by the Roman emperor Theodosius in the fourth century, left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt.

When a fire destroyed the church in 1823, the current basilica was built and the ancient crypt was filled with earth and covered by a new altar.

“We were always certain that the tomb had to be there beneath the papal altar,” Filippi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Filippi said that the decision to make the sarcophagus visible again was made after many pilgrims who came to Rome during the Catholic Church’s 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that the saint’s tomb could not be visited or touched.

The findings of the project will be officially presented during a news conference at the Vatican on Monday. [/url]
IMO its a matter of respect.
There are lots of tombs to visit. Its a major thing for tourists everywhere.
Heck, there is even a current thread on Forumosa.com about the graves of “famous” people on Taiwan.
Why should this bother those who are non-Roman Catholic?
I’m not and if its true, that cool by me. If its a fake, doesn’t bother me in the least.
I don’t raise my status by trying to lower that of others.
Just my opinion.

“Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he that moves my bones.” --Shakespeare, at his grave

5

Okay, so there were these two Jesuit archeologists. And one of them says to the other, “My brother, something extraordinary has happened! We’ve just unearthed…the bones of Jesus!”

“My God–do you realize what this means…? For our faith…?”

“It means…the old boy really did exist after all!”

6

[quote=“Jaboney”]This is interesting.

[quote=“BBC”]Archaeologists working for the Vatican have unearthed a sarcophagus containing what they believe are the remains of St Paul the Apostle.

The tomb dates back to at least AD390 and was found in a crypt under a basilica in Rome.

It has long been thought that the crypt contained the tomb of St Paul but the altar had hidden it.
[…]
For the past three years, archaeologists have been excavating underneath the altar to remove two huge slabs of marble and now, for the first time in almost 1700 years, the sarcophagus of St Paul is on public view.

The original inscription on the top reads: Paolo Apostolo Martyr - Latin for “Paul Apostle Martyr”.
[…]
St Paul is said to have been beheaded in AD65 by the Roman Emperor Nero.

His sarcophagus will be on public view for the foreseeable future but the church is yet to rule out the possibility that one day the interior itself will be opened and examined. [/quote][/quote]

Impossible to be the real Paul. After he was executed he would have been thrown into a mass grave for criminals and the poor. His bones have long turned to dust…

Dating back to 390AD just adds to that, as it was during that age when the Political Roman Empire was beginning to fall apart. The end was nigh, so to speak. The were starting to pave the beginning of the road for the “new” Roman Empire.

Jesus himself said, “organised Religion is an abomination,” and He and his Apostles would all have been Reformationists. And that is not even a religious point, it’s a practical point. They never had anything against Judaism or the Jewish faith. If anything, the Apostles were anti-Sadducees and Pharisees.
It is quite impossible for those bones to belong to Paul. Apart from the above statements, if the remains of whomevers corpse is to be found in that sarcophogus really date back to 390AD (of a man truly deceased in approx. 70AD) they would also long since have turned to dust…

All Hail Ceasar! All Hail the Pontifex Maximus! :unamused:

7

Hardly “impossible.” Unlikely, perhaps, but not impossible.

What likely would have been done with the body, I leave to a social historian. But as early Christians made a habit of meeting outside the city walls, often in cemeteries, even if his corpse had been take out and tossed in a pit, it wouldn’t have been beyond reach.

The state and identity of the remains does not depend on doctrinal history, but on how the body was prepared and where it was buried. If it were in a dry alcove of the catacombs before being moved, and the new location were dry enough, there’s no reason why there wouldn’t be some substantial remains… teeth, bones, hair, desiccated skin and flesh. Excluding mummies, bog men, and ice men, there are plenty of other remains that are as old.

Whatever. If it’s an ancient hoax recently discovered, and packaged for Christmas, that’s interesting.
If it’s genuine piece of the past, that’s more interesting.

8

if they were so damn sure of the veracity of this discovery,don’t worry,for once they would have welcomed with open arms that evil group that us,mere ignorants, call “scientists” to actually prove their point.

with the sorry state of the church these days,they need much more than some warmed up old story to get peoples in the Christmas mood

9

Paul & Peter were martyred around AD 65 - 69 according to historical records I believe.
They both were pretty well-known figures in their time. Quite a few non-religious historical writings tell their story. I guess their bodies were claimed by their followers as part of their deal with the government.
Be interesting to see how the “verification” process follows along.
Since they, archaeologists, have been able to positively a lot of very old bodies (I.m thinking Pharaohs and stuff) with the records they find, it should be a good trail of evidence in this case. Should be a good “History Channel” program.

I think there is to be more info released on Monday.