(Above: Ephesus Arena, where Paul is believed to have addressed the crowds.)
The first-ever scientific test on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul “seems to confirm” that they do indeed belong to Paul. Archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years has been believed by the faithful to be the tomb of Paul.
Scientists had conducted carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or second century. “This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul,” Paul and Peter are the two main figures known for spreading the Christian faith after the death of Christ.
When archaeologists opened the sarcophagus, they discovered alongside the bone fragments some grains of incense, a “precious” piece of purple linen with gold sequins and a blue fabric with linen filaments.
Archaeologists began excavating the 8-foot long tomb of Paul in 2002, which dates from at least A.D. 390 and was buried under the basilica’s main altar. The top of the coffin has small openings — subsequently covered with mortar — because in ancient times Christians would insert offerings or try to touch the remains. The basilica stands at the site of two 4th-century churches — including one destroyed by a fire in 1823 that had left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt.
After the fire, the crypt was filled with earth and covered by a new altar. A slab of cracked marble with the words “Paul apostle martyr” in Latin was also found embedded in the floor above the tomb.
