A Jerusalem monument revered for centuries as a Jewish holy place was a Christian shrine in the fourth century, a recently deciphered inscription reveals, the Israeli Ha’aretz daily reported on Tuesday.
The fourth-century inscription, discovered two years ago, marks the monument as the burial place of temple priest Zachariah, father of John the Baptist, the report said.
The inscription was only recently deciphered and reads, ”This is the tomb of Zachariah, the martyr, the holy priest, the father of John.”
The Gospel of Luke in the Bible names Zachariah and Elisabeth as the parents of John the Baptist, one of the 12 disciples of Christ mentioned in the Bible.
According to Jewish belief, the shrine Yad Avshalom, was built by Absalom, the son of the biblical King David, because the Second Book of Samuel relates how Absalom built a memorial in the Valley of the Kings, which lies just outside the present-day Old City of Jerusalem.
Absalom lived about 1 000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, but scholars believe the monument was built only in the first century, making it possible that figures holy to Christianity could be buried there.
The inscription, 1,2m long and 10m high, is believed to have been written three centuries after the monument was built.
It was uncovered by Jerusalem archaeologist Joe Zias, who noticed writing on one of the walls in a picture of the tomb.
The inscription had gone unnoticed by contemporary scholars as it had been almost completely obliterated.
Zias solved the mystery after visiting the shrine and speaking to the photographer — the inscription can only be seen when the sun hits it at a certain angle at twilight and only in summer. – Sapa-DPA