Istanbul Gelisim University - Thought to be a cistern, turns out to be a church from the 4th century

Thought to be a cistern, turns out to be a church from the 4th century

In the Ayasuluk Hill and St. Jean Monument Excavations in Izmir, it is revealed that the building, which was previously considered as a basilica cistern, is a church with a free cross plan, and it is thought that the Gospel of John, one of the 4 Gospels accepted as the holy book by Christians, was written here.

While the Ayasuluk Hill and St. Jean Monument Excavations in the Selçuk district of İzmir continue with the support of Istanbul Gelisim University, important clues for the Christian world have been found in the excavation area. It turned out that the place where the Gospel of John, one of the 4 Gospels accepted by Christians as their holy book, was written, is a building that was previously considered as a basilica cistern.

Assoc. Prof. Sinan Mimaroğlu, the head of the excavation and a faculty member of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Department of Art History, stated that they are working on the structure, which is located in the highest part of the Ayasuluk Hill and St. Jean Monument Excavation area and was previously considered as a basilica cistern, and added, “During our preliminary investigations, we realized that this building was misidentified because this is not a basilica, but a church with a free Greek cross plan. In our drilling studies, we have obtained data that will provide accuracy to these views. The building was a ruined building up to its roof at first. The building was turned into a cistern to meet the water needs of the castle during the Aydınoğlu Principality Period.”

“FOUND A COLUMN THAT COULD BE MEMORIAL”

Stating that St. John is believed to be a saint to whom Jesus is believed to have entrusted his mother Mary when he was on the cross, Mimaroğlu said, "We know that St. John's came to Selçuk, lived in Ephesus until he was 100 years old, and was buried here. It is known that his tomb is in the Church of St. John. Although we have not yet found this in the archaeological remains on this hill, we think of it as the point where St. John wrote the Bible. The free cross-planned building we identified was contemporary with the first phase of the church below. A possible memorial column was found here. We think that this structure was built after the second half of the 4th century, in the years when Christianity first spread.”

“THE CHURCH IS ABOUT TO APPEAR”

Noting that there has been no detailed study on the church, which is considered to be the place where St. John wrote the Bible, Mimaroğlu said, "With these studies, an early church is about to emerge on the hill where St. John is thought to have written the bible. Until now, this hill was not a well-known area as it was known as the basilica cistern. With our work, we have the idea of directing the tourists to this region and building an observation deck here. Of course, we need sponsor support for this. In this context, we expect support from Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and other stakeholders.”

Mimaroğlu also said that the church, which is thought to be the place where the Bible was written, was built at the same time as the St. John's Church, located below the area where the Ayasuluk Hill and St. Jean Monument Excavations were made, and they think that the importance of the area will increase with the proof that the Bible was written here.