October 5, 2017
Archaeologists may have become a step closer to finding the grave of St. Nicholas, more popularly known as Santa Claus, as they discovered what may be the actual grave of the Christmas saint below the surface of a church in Turkey’s southern Antalya province.
A special section containing a grave site was recently discovered in the St. Nicholas Church, located in Antalya’s Demre district, known as the birth place of Santa Claus, Hürriyet daily reported.
The head of Antalya’s Monument Authority Cemil Karabayram told the daily that they came across an untouched shrine while conducting digital surveys below the surface of the church.
“We believe this shrine has not been damaged at all, but it is quite difficult to get to it as there are mosaics on the floor” Karabayram said, adding that they need to scale each tile one by one and remove them as a whole in a mold.
The official continued by saying that they examined all files from 1942 to 1966 regarding St. Nicholas’ remains and found out that the church was burnt down but was reconstructed.
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