Is this Father Christmas’ coffin? Scientists unearth ‘sarcophagus of bishop who inspired Santa Claus’ at ancient church
Archaeologists have discovered a STONE casket that is thought to be that of the first “Santa Claus.”
Since 1989, scholars have excavated the St. Nicholas Church in Demre, Antalya, Turkey.
It is thought to be the last burial site of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Christian bishop who passed away in 343 AD and is currently known as Demre.
The characters of Sinterklaas and Santa Claus were both modeled in the Greek bishop.
He even donated his inheritance to the cause because he was a devout Christian who believed in helping those in need.
Saint Nick was especially well-known for his covert gift-giving and for hiding money in people’s shoes.
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A limestone sarcophagus that may have belonged to Saint Nicholas has now been discovered by archaeologists investigating the church’s two-story annexe.
The five-foot deep and six-foot-long coffin with a raised lid was located at the burial site of the seventh-century church in the dig led by Associate Professor Ebru Fatma Findik from Hatay Mustafa Kemal University.
It was discovered that the stone coffin was around six feet below the surface by researchers participating in the site’s “Legacy for the Future Project”.
Findik told Turkey Today that it wasn’t until the researchers began discovering animal bones and pieces of clay lamps that they realized they were on a graveyard.
At the invitation of Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, a magnificent church was constructed in his honor at the same location hundreds of years after the saint who died in the fourth century was buried there.
After being transferred into a sarcophagus, his remains were interred at the new church.
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However, there is currently no assurance that the stone casket is that of the pious Christian saint who is honored each December.
Although there has long been conjecture over the site of the Bishop’s tomb, the discovery of the coffin so near the church has given researchers hope.
“Some sources suggest that St. Nicholas was buried near the sacred area of the city of Myra,” Findik said.
“The fact that we have found a sarcophagus near the church, which is thought to house his tomb, may indicate that this is indeed the sacred area we have been searching for.”
“This is a significant archaeological confirmation of historical sources regarding the burial place of St. Nicholas,” Findik stated.
Italian robbers from Bari stole part of the bones from his coffin in 1087 and brought them back to their homeland.
Later, during the First Crusade, the remaining bones were taken by Venetian sailors.
Although the identity of the bones discovered in Bari and Venice was verified by scholars in 1953, it is unclear if they belong to Saint Nicholas, according to Heritage Daily.
Only the lid has so far been fully unearthed, with only a tiny section of the burial chamber currently visible as researchers hope to soon find a big clue as to its contents.
“Our biggest hope is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus,” Findik stated.
“This would help clarify the burial contents and allow us to determine the exact period it dates to.”
More information regarding the sarcophagus is anticipated in the coming months, according to the principal investigator.
The face of Saint Nicholas has been restored after 1,700 years by another team of experts.
To create the face, Cicero Moraes and his team used data collected in the 1950s by Luigi Martino, with permission from the Centro Studi Nicolaiani.
He said: We initially reconstructed the skull in 3D using this data.
We then traced the profile of the face using statistical projections.
We supplemented this with the anatomical deformation technique, in which the tomography of a living person’s head is adjusted so that the virtual donor’s skull matches that of the saint.
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The final face is an interpolation of all this information, seeking anatomical and statistical coherence.
The result is two sets of images: one objective in greyscale, and one more artistic adding features like a beard and clothes, inspired by the iconography of Saint Nicholas.
The legend of Saint Nicholas
SAINT Nicholas, the historical figure who inspired the modern-day Santa Claus, is a beloved saint in Christian tradition.
He was a 4th-century bishop of Myra (modern-day Demre in Turkey) and is known for his generosity, miracles, and compassionate spirit.
Saint Nicholas was born around 270 AD in the Roman province of Lycia, in the town of Patara (present-day Turkey).
Raised in a wealthy Christian family, he lost his parents at a young age and inherited a substantial fortune.
Rather than keeping the wealth for himself, Nicholas dedicated his life to serving others, living out his faith through acts of charity.
Several stories about Saint Nicholas emphasise his generosity and miraculous deeds. Some of the most well-known include:
The Dowries for the Three Sisters: A poor man in Myra had three daughters but could not afford dowries for them, leaving them at risk of being sold into slavery or forced into lives of destitution.
According to legend, Saint Nicholas secretly provided dowries by throwing bags of gold through their window at night.
Some versions of the story say he dropped the gold down the chimney, where it landed in stockings hanging by the fire to dry a detail that inspired the Christmas stocking tradition.
Saving sailors at sea: Saint Nicholas is also revered as the patron saint of sailors.
One legend recounts that he calmed a fierce storm while on a voyage, saving the ship and its crew through his prayers.
This story spread widely among seafarers, and they began to invoke his protection during their journeys.
The resurrected children:Another famous tale tells of Saint Nicholas resurrecting three children who had been murdered by a butcher during a famine.
In this story, the children had been dismembered and hidden in barrels, but Saint Nicholas miraculously restored them to life.
This narrative contributed to his reputation as a protector of children.
Saint Nicholas was known for his habit of secretly leaving gifts for the poor.His generosity earned him widespread admiration, and he became a symbol of selfless giving.
After his death on December 6 (the year is uncertain but believed to be between 343 352 AD), Saint Nicholas’s feast day became widely celebrated in Europe.
Over the centuries, his legend grew, blending with local customs.In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas became known as Sinterklaas, a figure celebrated on December 5 or 6.
Dutch settlers brought the tradition of Sinterklaas to America, where it evolved into the modern Santa Claus, further shaped by cultural influences such as Clement Clarke Moore s poem A Visit from St. Nicholas and Coca-Cola s iconic 20th-century advertisements.
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of numerous groups, including children, sailors, merchants, the innocent, and the wrongfully accused.
Icons of Saint Nicholas often depict him as a bishop holding a staff, with gold coins, children, or ships symbolising his miracles and patronage.
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