Cave linked to John the Baptist found

A British archaeologist has dug up evidence linking John the Baptist to a cave used for bathing rituals in hills near Jerusalem in what he said could be one of the biggest recent finds for Christian history.

Shimon Gibson, who has been digging in the Holy Land for nearly three decades, told Reuters he believed the cave, hewn 24 metres deep into a rocky hillside, might also have been visited by Jesus as well as New Testament preacher John.

Discovered by Mr Gibson in 1999, excavations at the cave since then have revealed a large bathing pool as well as objects used for anointing rituals that would be quite different from those used by most Jews there nearly 2,000 years ago.

Mr Gibson, 45, said evidence of specific links to John at the site came from drawings made 400 to 500 years later, which portrayed him in a similar way to other Byzantine art. One of the pictures also showed John's severed head.

"Nothing like this has been found elsewhere," Mr Gibson said. "It is the first time we have finds from the early baptismal period... It is an amazing discovery that happens to an archaeologist once in a lifetime."

The discovery, 15 minutes drive into hills west of Jerusalem, is due to be announced officially today, ahead of the launch of a book by Mr Gibson.

Any discovery of sites linked to the Bible is certain to stir controversy and its share of scepticism, but Mr Gibson said he had carried out many tests to satisfy himself that his theory was sound.

The Bible describes John performing baptisms - including that of Jesus - in the River Jordan, a good 40 kilometres east over the Judean desert.

But Mr Gibson said the site at Tzova could be linked to early years "when John sought solitude 'in the wilderness'".

"In addition to John the Baptist, there's a possibility that Jesus used this cave as well," said Mr Gibson.

The site, at the edge of a kibbutz's nectarine orchard, is about five kilometres from the village of Ein Kerem, which has traditionally been seen as John's birthplace and is the site of several churches dedicated to him.

Steps lead straight from the door down to the pool at the bottom of the cave, which is four metres high and about the same wide.