Evidence Supports Oldest Christian Church

North Carolina State University News Services Campus Box 7504 Raleigh, NC 27695 (919) 515-3470

Media Contacts: Dr. S. Thomas Parker, professor of history, 919/513-2223

Pam Smith, NC State News Services, 919/515-3470 or [email protected]

Oct. 28, 1998

NC State Archeologist: Evidence Supports Oldest Christian Church

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News flashed quickly around the world last summer when a North Carolina State University archeologist discovered what was believed to be the oldest Christian church in the world in Jordan.

But Dr. S. Thomas Parker was cautious about making unequivocal statements until outside experts could analyze and document artifacts from the dig in Jordan's port city of Aqaba. Now, the world renowned expert in ancient history, says, "All lines of evidence are converging to support the date of the church and its place in history."

Chief among the articles of proof is a coin consistent in form and weight with those issued in about 290 or 300 A.D., during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian. The dating coincides with other experts' examination of lamps, pottery and chandeliers from the church site. In addition, deep-probe, core samples to depths below the foundations of the church yielded an intact lamp and other pottery sherds that conform to the timeline.

The public got its first look at artifacts from the church on Wednesday, Oct. 28, when Parker held a press conference at NC State to report the latest findings. "If the proposed date of construction, circa 300 A.D., is accepted, it would in fact be the oldest structure in the world built as a church," Parker says. The Aila church predates those founded after 325 A.D. in Palestine by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor.

Evidence also shows that the church was devastated by an earthquake recorded in 363 A.D. What is less clear, Parker notes, is how and why the Aila church escaped the Great Persecution initiated by Diocletian in 303 A.D.

Parker's archeological dig first gained worldwide attention in 1994 when his team of students and international scholars discovered the lost city of Aila on the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea. Historical documents led Parker, a renowned scholar of ancient history, to the once bustling Roman trading port, which centuries before disappeared beneath shifting desert sands. His critical discovery of the ancient stone city wall came just as the modern city of Aqaba was about to bury Aila still deeper beneath concrete and steel towers of commerce. Since then, Jordan's government's Department of Antiquities has collaborated in the excavation and protection of the site.

The church and its cemetery are only a part of the complex tale of a city, which Parker's teams of students, professionals and local Jordanians have begun to reveal -- layer by layer -- after four field seasons under the scorching desert sun.

"The church is a spectacular discovery," Parker says, "But, I didn't go to Jordan searching for the church. I went to learn about the economy of one of the great port cities of the Roman Empire." He wasn't disappointed. Glass, metal and stone objects, coins, flour mills and ovens provide an economic snapshot of the Roman/Nabataen period of first and second centuries A.D. Other products that passed in or out of Aila's port during subsequent centuries included olive oil, dates, wine, fine glossy tableware, pottery, decorative carved animal bone, spices and herbs, gold, myrrh and frankincense.

Another surprising discovery was a jar filled with thousands of tiny fish bones, probably used to store or process garum, an ancient fish sauce. Parker says Aila may have been a production site for garum -- the salsa of antiquity -- in the Roman and Byzantine periods. He speculates that the discovery of that popular, but smelly, condiment may explain still another find -- a domestic incense altar commonly used to burn incense to mask household odors.

Emerging from the archeological site is the story of a cultural and ethnic mix of people drawn to Aila, a major junction of sea and overland trade routes. Still to be unearthed is why Aila was abandoned and allowed to disappear beneath the desert sands.

Parker hopes to continue to unravel Aila's history when he assembles another team in 2000. Originally, Parker planned only a three-season project -- 1994, 1996 and 1998-- but added a limited 1997 season to concentrate exclusively on the church. He says, "We just never imagined the incredible treasure we would discover. Looking back, it was an incredible crap shoot to take 50 people to the desert not knowing where to dig. But now we have established how rich this site is. The church is only partially exposed and it would be irresponsible to stop now."

For Dr. Mary Louise Mussell, a colleague who teaches Biblical Studies at Carleton University in Canada, there is no question about returning for another season. "It keeps getting better. The only thing that could top a coin supporting the church construction date would be finding the building inscription stone," says Mussell, who has supervised student teams each year. "We have the best time doing hard work because there is always something new to discover."

The project is sponsored by NC State and the American Schools of Oriental Research, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Geographic Society, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Joukowsky Family Foundation, Kyle-Kelso Foundation and the Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Aila project will be featured in the "Geographica" section of National Geographic magazine February 1999. It also will be the focus of two documentaries being produced by NC State's Creative Services for a spring release on Public Television. One will focus on the historic significance of the dig, while the other will underscore the student experience.

--smith--