A team of Italian archaeologists has announced the discovery here of
what they believe to be the tomb of Philip, one of Jesus' 12 apostles.
The tomb has been discovered in the ancient Asia Minor city of
Hierapolis in Turkey's Aegean province of Denizli, and are planning to
excavate the unopened grave soon.
The New Testament saint came to Hierapolis - known today as Pamukkale
- nearly 2,000 years ago to spread the Gospel and was crucified upside
down by the Romans.
The discovery of the grave will attract immense attention around the
world, said excavator Francesco D'Andria, director of the Institute of
Archaeological Heritage, Monuments and Sites at Italy's National
Research Council in Lecce.
Philip's tomb has traditionally been associated with the martyrium
church built at the site, though no evidence of the ancient burial was
ever found.
In July, however, D'Andria and his team located a smaller
church less than 150 feet away from the martyrium that appears to
contain the grave of the apostle.
"As we were cleaning out the new church we discovered a month ago, we
finally found the grave," said D'Andria. "With close examination, we
determined that the grave had been moved from its previous location in
the St Philip Church to this new church in the fifth century, during the
Byzantine era."
D'Andria has been leading archeological excavations at the ancient
city for 32 years. Hierapolis was founded around 190 BC by Eumenes II,
King of Pergamum (197 BC-159 BC).
The Hellenistic city was given over to Rome in 133 BC and grew into a
flourishing Roman metropolis, with temples, a theatre and popular
sacred hot springs, believed to have healing properties.
"Until recently, we thought the grave of St Philip was on Martyrs'
Hill, but we discovered no traces of him in the geophysical research
conducted in that area. A month ago, we discovered the remnants of an
unknown church, 40 metres away from the St Philip Church on Martyrs'
Hill. And in that church we discovered the grave of St Philip," D'Andria
said.
"We are extremely happy and proud to have discovered the grave of a
saint whose name appears in the bible - this surely is an important
discovery for religious tourism, archaeology and Christendom."