Well, it seems that Santa was real for a while, but now, he is definitely dead. How come? Apparently, the tomb that belongs to dear old St. Nick was recently discovered under an ancient church in southern Turkey, at least according to archaeologists statement on Wednesday.
As it turns out this tomb was discovered thanks to modern technology (via electronic surveys) that showed a bunch of gaps that are directly beneath the 1,500-year-old St. Nicholas Church in the Antalya Province town of Demre. Cemil Karabayram, head of Antalya’s Monument Authority, stated: “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.”
A little history lesson for those who do not know, St. Nicholas during his life used his entire inheritance to help the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He was and still is, revered for his acts of generosity to children and those in need. St. Nick died in 343 AD and was interred at the Demre church until the 11th century. There are few tales that circle around jolly old St. Nick, and one of those says that one night a mystery bag full of gold appeared in the home of a man who tried to marry all his daughters in order to take their dowry. If he didn’t manage to do that, then his daughters would be sold into slavery. This naturally came into the stocking being left on the fireplace custom, with hopes that jolly old Nick will fill them with gifts. Another tale talks about St. Nick on the sea when he saved an entire ship from the wreckage after he prayed. Thanks to this he is considered as a patron saint of voyagers and the sailors.
Now back on topic, the opinion of the scholars was that Nicholas was born in the ancient Greek city of Myra, which is a new age Demre and as it seems, that is the truth. But according to Karabayram “We have obtained very good results but the real work starts now” since they will have to reach the shrine and that will be a very slow and touchy job since it is blocked by stone reliefs and mosaics that need to be preserved. He also added, “We will reach the ground and maybe we will find the untouched body of St. Nicholas.” According to history, it was widely believed that the remains of St. Nick have been brought to the city of Bari, Italy, in 1087, but this fresh new discovery just might refute that.
