Archaeologists prepare to open 'tomb of Jesus’ midwife' to public
A tomb in Israel that reportedly was the burial place of a woman considered to be the midwife of the infant Jesus, according to early church apocryphal sources, will soon be open to the public.
A family tomb located in a cave at the Lachish Forest, known as the Cave of Salome and found about 20 miles from Bethlehem, was recently uncovered by researchers, along with evidence that it was a venerated holy site.
The cave was named after Salome, which, according to the non-canonical Gospel of James and some traditions, served as the midwife for the Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Jesus.
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The site was excavated by the Judean Kings’ Trail Project, an effort led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Ministry for Jerusalem and Heritage and the Jewish National Fund.
In addition to the burial site, the excavation site also included a courtyard with shop stalls that experts believed would sell clay lamps for pilgrims visiting the cave, reported The Jerusalem Post.
“In the shop, we found hundreds of complete and broken lamps dating from the eighth and ninth centuries,” said Nir Shimshon-Paran and Zvi Firer, excavation directors in the IAA’s southern region, in a statement quoted by JP.
“The lamps may have served to light up the cave, or as part of the religious ceremonies like the candles distributed today at the graves of righteous figures and in churches.”
Saar Ganor, the IAA director of the Judean Kings’ Trail Project, was quoted by JP as saying that “once the restoration and development works are completed, the forecourt and the cave will be opened to the public.”
The cave has evidence that it was once owned by a prominent Jewish family from antiquity, with TV7 Israel News quoting the IAA as stating that they found “fine decorative vegetal designs, including rosettes, pomegranates and acanthus vases, characteristic Jewish features” at the site.
“It is noteworthy that the court leading into burial caves was usually hewn out of the rock, and not elaborately built of ashlar masonry as this forecourt,” the IAA added.
Unearthed around 40 years ago by looters, the site was believed to be a place of Christian pilgrimage well into the eighth and ninth centuries, even after Islamic forces conquered the region.
