Someone get Dan Brown on the phone. Ancient bones discovered under a church floor may have belonged to John the Baptist, who is described in the Bible as a leading prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ.
Originally discovered in 2010 on an island in Bulgaria known as Sveti Ivan, or Saint John, a team from Oxford was able to radiocarbon date a knucklebone to the first century A.D. They also identified a family group of genes in the bones that are relative to the Middle East, both the time and place experts believe John would have been from.
In a separate study, researchers believe historical documents prove the same monastery received relics of John the Baptist sent from Jerusalem. We can’t wait for the major motion picture, as long as they don’t try and put long hair on Tom Hanks again.
Video by Jim Festante.
