Sensational find in Israel: Researchers have discovered a long-lost Crusader altar (pictured above) in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, one of the largest shrines in Christianity.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is visited by thousands of pilgrims and tourists every day. And it has always been and continues to be the target of scientists from all over the world. You would think that every cubic centimeter of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been thoroughly researched. Not at all! Because historians from Israel and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have now made a sensational discovery by chance.
Solid stone slab turned over for construction work
Behind a stone slab made of barrels on which tourists immortalized themselves with graffiti, they discovered a Crusader altar that had been missing for decades.
Historian: “It was unexpected for everyone”
“The fact that something so important could remain unnoticed in this place for so long was completely unexpected for everyone involved,” says OeAW historian Ilya Berkovich.
But what is the altar about? At the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th century, European crusaders recaptured the Holy City. On June 15, 1149, exactly 875 years ago, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (pictured below) was reconsecrated.
The altar was considered missing since 1808
On this day, the newly created and exceptionally decorated high altar of the Crusaders also saw the light of day. The work of art was considered lost after a fire in the Romanesque part of the church in 1808. Until it reappeared behind the stone slab today.
Source: Krone
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