NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, ALMOST 2,000 years-old.

Jordan archaeologists unearth 'world's first church'

Tue Jun 10, 9:27 AM ET

Archaeologists in Jordan have unearthed what they claim is the world's first church, dating back almost 2,000 years, The Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.

"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.

He said it was uncovered under Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.

"We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians -- the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ," Husan said.

These Christians, who are described in a mosaic as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine," are said to have fled persecution in Jerusalem and founded churches in northern Jordan, Husan added.

He cited historical sources which suggest they both lived and practised religious rituals in the underground church and only left it after Christianity was embraced by Roman rulers.

The bishop deputy of the Greek Orthodox archdiocese, Archimandrite Nektarious, described the discovery as an "important milestone for Christians all around the world."

Researchers recovered pottery dating back to between the 3rd and 7th centuries, which they say suggests these first Christians and their followers lived in the area until late Roman rule.

Inside the cave there are several stone seats which are believed to have been for the clergy and a circular shaped area, thought to be the apse.

There is also a deep tunnel which is believed to have led to a water source, the archaeologist added.

Rihab is home to a total of 30 churches and Jesus and the Virgin Mary are believed to have passed through the area, Husan said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080610/ts_afp/jordanreligionchristianarchaeology
If the dating is right, this would be a remarkable discovery. I'll be interested to know what information could be gleamed from this about the earliest days of Christianity.

I always find things like this to be fascinating, and wish there was some kind of time portal so we could see back to when this church was in use. It makes you wonder what will be left of our culture in 2,000 years time for our descendants to find.

They tried to me make go to Rihab - I said no, no, no

Well, ALMOST 2,000 years-old.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080610/ts_afp/jordanreligionchristianarchaeology
If the dating is right, this would be a remarkable discovery. I'll be interested to know what information could be gleamed from this about the earliest days of Christianity.

Damn...

And it would be about right.

They tried to me make go to Rihab - I said no, no, no

That's awful. :p

A remarkable discovery indeed! Archeological finds are always interesting, they give us new insights about our past.

Archeological finds are always interesting, they give us new insights about our past.

Zounds - I had never thought of them like that.

Glad to be of service, my dear friend.

I always find things like this to be fascinating, and wish there was some kind of time portal so we could see back to when this church was in use. It makes you wonder what will be left of our culture in 2,000 years time for our descendants to find.

I share the same feelings. It would be more than fascinating, it would be life-changing. Don't you think?:)

$10 on it turning out to be a brothel :rolleyes:

:D

$10 on it turning out to be a brothel :rolleyes:

t makes you wonder what will be left of our culture in 2,000 years time for our descendants to find.
Lots and lots and lots of very small pieces of plastic.

$10 on it turning out to be a brothel :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

Well, ALMOST 2,000 years-old.
If the dating is right, this would be a remarkable discovery. I'll be interesteto know what information could be gleamed from this about the earliest days of Christianity.

Fuck, it would be funny if it really was a Mushroom cult....

"We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians -- the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ," Husan said

70? Did they all have tattoos, long hair, and ride long necked donkeys....?

They tried to me make go to Rihab - I said no, no, no

Third post in... and here I was banking on it being the second post.

$10 on it turning out to be a brothel :rolleyes:

I'll take that bet! *Slaps down 10$ on table*

I'll be interested to know what information could be gleamed from this about the earliest days of Christianity.

The Dead Sea Scrolls! :D

Dibs on any blue-haired half-angel woman they predict!

Zankoku na tenshi no yôo ni! :D

(Yeah, yeah, admittedly, the Dead Sea Scrolls would be likely found near the Dead Sea... But an otaku can dream.)

They claim they have evidence of 1st-century occupation, but don't cite any.

It makes you wonder what will be left of our culture in 2,000 years time for our descendants to find.

I would love to see some of the theories they will have on us (http://www.leekspin.com/)

They claim they have evidence of 1st-century occupation, but don't cite any.

they found an underground church dating from the 1st century...

It makes you wonder what will be left of our culture in 2,000 years time for our descendants to find.
Videos of Big Brother and the Millennium Dome.

Nowt else.

Videos of Big Brother and the Millennium Dome.

Nowt else.

this line of questioning needs a thread ;)

this line of questioning needs a thread ;)

Yeah since video as a medium is not really made to stnd the test of time.

Yeah since video as a medium is not really made to stnd the test of time.

but not even archaeologists can find the spam forum :(

Yeah since video as a medium is not really made to stnd the test of time.

Not like books...

Not like books...

pfft why do you think they have book stands?

pfft why do you think they have book stands?

For those exotic early Christian sex positions before the Vatican decided that that too much fun wasn't good for their followers.

They claim they have evidence of 1st-century occupation, but don't cite any.

Because buildings in the first century built themselves?:confused:

$10 on it turning out to be a brothel :rolleyes:

I'll take that bet! And another $5 that they discover a tunnel underneath it leading to the brothel! :D

Because buildings in the first century built themselves?:confused:

The 'building' in question is a cave, apparently discovered under an existing church.

http://www.jordantimes.com/img/3000/2858.jpg
Picture from Jordan Times (http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=8471)

The actual building, St Georgeous, is dated to 230 AD.

Well, ALMOST 2,000 years-old.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080610/ts_afp/jordanreligionchristianarchaeology
If the dating is right, this would be a remarkable discovery. I'll be interested to know what information could be gleamed from this about the earliest days of Christianity.

That some of them once hid in a cave?

Seriously though, at first glance this seems to be just another case of someone hyping their discovery and getting lazy journalists to do the same:

The dating of 33 to 70 AD seems to be based on nothing more that the time frame between the most commonly accepted date for the Crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.
Their claim that the cave to have been used by 'the seventy' seems to be based on nothing more substantial that an inscription from the third century church which was built on the same spot.
Pottery shards at the site have been dated from third to seventh century (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/211034,archaeologists-in-jordan-unearth-first-church-in-world.html), nothing earlier (although obviously that doesn't mean that there wasn't anyone there)

Jordan gets a lot of money from Christian tourism, and the Earth Times article I link shows that the Tourism Ministry is already planning to exploit the site. Suspicious? Maybe this really is the world's earliest church, but I'd like to see some evidence before I believe it.

EDIT: The Jordan Times also make reference to Tourism. Hilariously enough, on this occasion the soberest reporting is coming from Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364486,00.html). :D

I always find things like this to be fascinating, and wish there was some kind of time portal so we could see back to when this church was in use. It makes you wonder what will be left of our culture in 2,000 years time for our descendants to find.

Church or Union Hall?

I still maintain it was all politics and bugger all to do with religion at the end of the day....

Would that be one massive metaphor? Like...religion is actually a set of rules to live by but as humans are wankers by and large the only way to get people to go for it was to scare them shitless about hell and devils and stuff like for eternity...when really all the guy wanted was a fair shake...against the bloody romans...errrrrr....Che anyone...seeing as it all seems to be metaphor anyway?

Damn that was a strong bong heh

*sneeze*

In addition to the circular apse pictured earlier, there are manufactured walls, chimneys and skylight holes, steps and doorways and daily life artifacts such as all the oil lamps.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee218/Balderdash71964/ST_Georges_Church_in_Rihab_Mafraq.jpg

However old it is, it's real and it was used for something. I don't know about first century though, need more dating proof to confirm that. But even second century would be a great find, the church above is said to be third century so it needs to be older than that...

However old it is, it's real and it was used for something. I don't know about first century though, need more dating proof to confirm that. But even second century would be a great find, the church above is said to be third century so it needs to be older than that...

WTF? Did we just agree on something? :p ;)

Awesome pictures by the way, where did you find them?

WTF? Did we just agree on something? :p ;)

Yes. I've decided that when you choose to be correct it's okay to agree with you :p

Awesome pictures by the way, where did you find them?

I scavenged them from various sites, nobody seems to be collecting them so I made a collage... these were pictures from the AP and RUETERS collectively. Search on google or yahoo in news (not web) and oldest church...