ghiangelo

... or so they say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6219656.stm

i'm not clear on the history behind this tomb or the belief that it was the resting place of Paul. does anyone here have any information about this?

thanks

ghi

Diogenes the Cynic

The inscription is intriguing. I guess it's possible but I don't know how it could be proven.

I think the most it would mean, though, is that Paul existed historically -- not exactly an earth shattering revelation.

Of course, it could have easily have been an ancient fake reliquary as well. It would be interesting to see what's in the sarcophagus. If there are any bones, I'd want to see them dated.

Malachi151

I don't know the history of this, but if he were actually beheaded in 65 CE, then how does he end up in this tomb a few hundred years later??

Kosh

Well, he got better....

I think this explains quite clearly where this would have suddenly come from:

Diogenes the Cynic

I believe the 390 date only means that the sarcophagus has to date at least to the time that the medieval basilica was first built. The tradition is that the 4th Century basilica was built over the site of Paul's alleged burial site but that the tomb had already been a site of veneration and pilgrimage since the 1st Century.

Malachi151

This is interesting because either way there are some tough questions to answer.

#1) If he were killed as a criminal, then how it is that he had a burial site that was able to be a place of worship for these 300+ years in Rome?

#2) If he was indeed buried and his place of burial was marked and people went there as a shrine from the beginning, then why didn't the same thing happen to Jesus' place of burial, or "empty tomb"....

Diogenes the Cynic

The details of Paul's death are so obscured that it's hard to really answer any questions about it or the early history of the shrine. I don't think it's a given that Paul was executed by the Romans but even if he was, I don't think there would automatically be any reason his burial place couldn't have been known. Since the first church over the site (which predated the two subsequent basilicas) was built by Constantine, we can't rule out the possibility that he faked up a tomb, but there seems to have been some kind of belief that the site was Paul's burial place well before Constantine.
Easy. Because there never was an empty tomb .

If any kind of HJ was really crucified, the whereabouts of his remains were probably never known to anyone who cared. I don't think that necessarily means that Paul's burial site couldn't have been known, though.

For the record, I'm not trying to make an argument that this new discovery is authentic (I think the possibility of a Constantinian fake deserves serious consideration), but I don't think it's impossible. Paul almost certainly really existed. That doesn't prove a thing about Jesus, of course.

mountainman

There are other interesting questions that also may be considered
such as "Is Apollonius of Tyana - Paul of Tarsus?", and related questions such as:

* Is the shortened version of "Apollonius" "Pol" or "Paul"?
* The name "Apollonius" is mentioned in the Codex Bezae.
* Who is "Paul" mentioned on the Inscription of Abercius?
* How is this "Paul" chizzled in Greek?




Pete

Roger Pearse

The sarcophagus is probably empty. Rome was attacked by the Moslems in 846 who smashed up all the Christian sites.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

dzim77

In case you hadn't heard... a head's up (I guess this is a day late anyways)

From the BBC.com article...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6219656.stm

"Archaeologists working for the Vatican have unearthed a sarcophagus containing what they believe are the remains of St Paul the Apostle.
The tomb dates back to at least AD390 and was found in a crypt under a basilica in Rome.

It has long been thought that the crypt contained the tomb of St Paul but the altar had hidden it.

St Paul was an influential early Christian who travelled widely in the Mediterranean area in the 1st Century.

Excavations at the site began in 2002 and were completed last month.

..The original inscription on the top reads: Paulo Apostolo Mart - Latin for "Paul Apostle Martyr".