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Here is a very tantalizing piece of news from a Dutch news site:
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Archaeologists of the Vatican have discovered a sarcophagus containing, presumably, the remains of the apostle Paul. This has been announced by the director of the archaeologists, last Wednesday. The object itself is about 1600 years old and was excavated last month in the Basilica of Saint Paul's. It has not yet been opened but director Giorgio Filippi does not exclude the possibility that this will happen.
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I can not find independent confirmation. Anyone?
Jona Lendering
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No, but after the story of the sarkophagus of Jesus´brother I have my doubts... :?
Susanna
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Ave Jona,
that basic information is going round for some years now since the examinations of the grave lasted.
Yesterday the online issue of the biggest German newspaper ("BILD" - also using biggest letters for smallest brains, comparable to the British 'Sun'...) reported that, too.
According to that, the Vatican will present the results of the examinations next Monday, including an inscription on a sarcophagus lid which reads: PAVLO APOSTOLO MART (the newspaper translated it: 'dedicated to apostle and martyr Paul').
Whether they opened the sarcophagus (doubt that) or might prove that it is genuine from the first century (and no kind of a later reliquary casket) will be revealed in a few days. So 'dedicated' might not be the same as 'here lies apostle Paul'...
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Quote:No, but after the story of the sarkophagus of Jesus´brother I have my doubts... :?
The difference is that the James ossuary was found on the black market, and had theological implications (ergo: a plausible object for a cheater), whereas the Paul sarcophagus was found after scientific excavations and has no theological implications. No one has ever denied that Paul was in Rome; but a brother for Jesus is something the Roman Catholic Church (unlike the Protestant Churches) has always denied. So, I guess this may be the correct sarcophagus.
Jona Lendering
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The sarkophagus is 1.600 years old, so it dates to the time, when reliquen-trade has already started.
Press picks up news like this exremly fast...
so lets wait what will be published on Monday.
Paul was indeed Roman citizen and he traveled much, so there is a possibilty.
Susanna
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That would be fun if he was holding the holy grail in one hand, and the holy lance in the other. No wonder we couldn't find em!
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Source: [url:10y11u1n]http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-12-06-paul_x.htm?csp=34[/url]
Vatican archaeologists find tomb believed to be that of Apostle Paul
ROME (AP) — Vatican archaeologists have unearthed a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul that had been buried beneath Rome's second largest basilica.
The sarcophagus, which dates back to at least A.D. 390, has been the subject of an extended excavation that began in 2002 and was completed last month, the project's head said this week.
"Our objective was to bring the remains of the tomb back to light for devotional reasons, so that it could be venerated and be visible," said Giorgio Filippi, the Vatican archaeologist who headed the project at St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica.
The interior of the sarcophagus has not yet been explored, but Filippi didn't rule out the possibility of doing so in the future.
Two ancient churches that once stood at the site of the current basilica were successively built over the spot where tradition said the saint had been buried. The second church, built by the Roman emperor Theodosius in the fourth century, left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt.
When a fire destroyed the church in 1823, the current basilica was built and the ancient crypt was filled with earth and covered by a new altar.
"We were always certain that the tomb had to be there beneath the papal altar," Filippi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Filippi said that the decision to make the sarcophagus visible again was made after many pilgrims who came to Rome during the Catholic Church's 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that the saint's tomb could not be visited or touched.
The findings of the project will be officially presented during a news conference at the Vatican on Monday.
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The reports keep saying "Rome's second largest basilica" but they don't name it. San Pietro ad Vinicula? St. John Lateran? Which one is it?
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San Paolo fuori le Mura, John. 8)
Aitor
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Thanks, Aitor.
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My pleasure, John! 
Aitor
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Here's the coverage by the BBC: [url:17e4wb2r]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6219656.stm[/url]
Jona Lendering
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The marble sarcophagus undoubtly dates from the 4th c., but I still hope they proceed to open it. Osteological enquiry and C14 would tell whether or not the remains inside could belong to Saul of Tarsos.
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Quote:That would be fun if he was holding the holy grail in one hand, and the holy lance in the other.
I had understood that the former was located & published (although the piece itself was lost) in the obscure Jones, H., Jones, H. and Brody, M. 1938 Certain Antiquities of Venice and Hattay, near Iskenderun, tentatively identified as Alexandretta San Francisco: Barnett College
Or was that a movie?
:lol:
More seriously, I was reminded of the "Arthur's Cross" grave slab found by the monks of Glastonbury, but one would not have to suggest a deliberate hoax in antiquity to imagine the C4th re-inhumation and inscription of what might have been thought to have been Paul's remains, even if it turns out not to be the man himself. I hope they do allow the necessary analysis - the results cannot harm the faith but could tell benefit archaeology.
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