During ongoing archaeological excavations at Eğil Castle, in Amida (Diyarbakır), southeastern Turkey, tombs dating back 1,600 – 1,900 years have come to light.
Professor Dr. Vecihi Özkaya, head of the excavations, said that one of the tombs discovered may have belonged to Saint Jude Thaddeus.
“We know that the apostle Judas saw Jesus Christ and received orders from him. We know that he was slaughtered in the area of Bigiol, carrying his orders, and that he was buried here.”
Central motif of the cross
Surrounded by deep valleys and built on a monolith, the castle of Eğil, in Eğil district, is the place where the prophets Dhu-al-Kifl (Zülkifl) and Elisha, mentioned in the Koran, are believed to be buried.
Especially in its lower part stone church, which is estimated to be around 1,900 years old and which bears many cross symbols on its walls, the excavation team found two tombs containing ritual finds and decorated with different cross motifs.
The head of the excavations, Professor Dr. Özkaya describes how Eğil is an important reference center for Christian, Jewish, and Muslim beliefs, and notes that the values that make up Christian culture began to emerge during the excavations.
An important center of the Christian world
Özkaya explained that “Through our studies, we have seen that this site was built, not just as a stone church, but as a temple complex.
We discovered two caves that conformed to the religious architecture, the lowest part of the church. The possibility that the tomb was of one of the Christian saints prompted us to study the area in depth. Our research suggests that this church was an important center for the region and the Christian world, between the 1u and of the 6u century AD”.
Özkaya stated that, according to Armenian records, the tomb in the stone church may have belonged to Saint Jude Thaddeus, known as Mar Addai, one of the saints who was martyred in the area of Bigol, in 50 AD:
«It is known that the apostle Judas had seen Jesus Christ, received orders from Him and became a martyr in the area of Bigyol, before carrying out his orders. The data we obtained testify that this large area may have belonged to the apostle Judas.”
In the caves, findings such as ritual and offering spaces have been discovered.
The findings suggest that these sites may have been burial places of Christian saints.
The area where the mounds are located dates back almost 1,900 years, while the mounds date back to between 1,600 and 1,900 years ago. There are symbols in the form of crosses and symbols carved into the walls that suggest the possibility that holy persons were buried here.
Source: www.enikos.gr
