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.
Just keep the poor guy away from the feminists.
Anyway, it’s a lot cooler than this story: Archaeologists find mummified remains
BFD. I do that each time I look in the crisper.
Damnation. Next thing you know, they’ll be trying to extract Paul’s DNA and bring him back to life.
Oh, and behind the refrigerator is also a good place to find mummified things.
If there’s anything left and the stories are correct about how he died they should be able to tell right away if it’s him.
Exciting find, Dan. And it implies Peter might be hanging out under his own basilica. If they go looking and find him it would be the first archeological evidence of a man who knew The Man in the flesh, no?
Themistocles–
I think they’ve already got a metal box that they figure might have Rocky in it.
Thank God Minneapolis came through relatively unscathed.
Dan, are we talking Rocky Balboa or Rocket J. Squirrel?
Why do you have the mummy of a 4000-year-old Egyptian doctor in your crisper, Dan? Isn’t that kind of unsanitary?
Well, geez, mojo–where do you keep yours?
In the broom closet, of course. Sheesh.
My mistake, Dan. I appreciate the tune-up, because it sent me to The Google where I found this. It takes a dim view of the discovery :
A question for the ages if there ever was one.
Maybe one day the old-timers will let modern science have a peek. Peter’s death was certainly atypical, sort of like a Moe Howard bit gone bad in extremis–it’d be fascinating if the bones showed evidence of it.