Remains of a monk chained with iron rings discovered during excavations in Israel
Khirbat al-Masani is an archaeological site where archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a three-apse temple from the earlier Byzantine period. HeritageDaily was once part of a monastery with an inn where pilgrims could stay during their travels.
The church itself was partially carved into the rock and was built by the priest Sabin from a layer of limestone (fine worked stone) that may have been dedicated to St. Zacharias.
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Archaeologists recently unearthed the remains of a 1,500-year-old monk buried in a tomb next to two small niche-like closed cells in the church’s central apse. There are iron rings on his neck, arms and legs weighing tens of kilograms. By wearing chains as proof of one’s devotion, they symbolize the behavior of an ascetic lifestyle, the researchers suggest.
Monks who adhered to asceticism led a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from bodily pleasures in search of salvation, atonement for sin, or spirituality.
More extreme asceticism included the practice of chaining the body to rocks or a cell, praying while sitting on an exposed stake, solitary confinement, refusal to personal hygiene, or voluntarily inflicting pain and suffering on oneself.
The monk found probably lived in or near the church complex in seclusion, chained in a separate closed cell. The practice originated in Syria in the 4th or 5th century AD, but the discovery of a burial suggests that this extreme asceticism spread as far south as the Jerusalem area during the Byzantine period.
Earlier, archaeologists had found similar specimens. During excavations at a monastery between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, researchers discovered that a man was buried in an underground cavern, with iron chains wrapped around his upper body.
Previously Focus He wrote about the mosaic floor of the 1,500-year-old “Church of the Apostles” that was lost. It is believed that it can be built on the site where the apostles Peter and Andrew once lived.
Also, scientists finally managed to find out who is buried under Notre Dame Cathedral.
Source: Focus
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