A tunnel network unearthed in Israel could be the site where Christians believe Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine.
For hundreds of years, pilgrims have believed the site of the wedding miracle to be Kafr Kanna, a town in northern Israel, but archaeologists now believe the Cana of biblical times might be a hillside five miles to the north, the news outlet reported.
The location is the former site of Khirbet Qana, an ancient Jewish village, and excavations have uncovered a network of tunnels used for Christian worship, including an altar and a shelf hold the remains of a stone vessel with room for five more.
Six stone jars like this held the wine in the biblical account of the miracle.
Tom McCollough, who is directing the excavations, told the news outlet three other sites appear to fit the bill, but "none has the ensemble of evidence that makes such a persuasive case for Khirbet Qana."
"We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle," he told. "This complex was used beginning in the late fifth or early sixth century and continued to be used by pilgrims into the 12th-century Crusader period.
"The pilgrim texts we have from this period that describe what pilgrims did and saw when they came to Cana of Galilee match very closely what we have exposed as the veneration complex."
As part of his evidence, McCollough points to the work of first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.
"His references to Cana align geographically with the location of Khirbet Qana and align logically with his movements," McCollough told the news outlet. "The reference to Cana in Josephus, the New Testament and in the rabbinic texts would argue the village was a Jewish village, near the Sea of Galilee and in the region of lower Galilee.
"Khirbet Qana fulfills all of these criteria."
“At this point the Franciscans were managing Christian pilgrimage and facilitating easy passage rather than historical accuracy.”
Dr McCollough believes the discoveries at Khirbet Qana could even bolster the case for the historicity of the Gospel of John.
He said: “Our excavations have shown that this was in fact a thriving Jewish village located in the heart of much of Jesus’s life and ministry.
“For the Gospel of John, Cana is in some ways, Jesus’s safe place or operational centre. It is a place He and His disciples return to when they encounter resistance in Judea.
“I would argue our excavations warrant at least a reconsideration of the historical value of John’s references to Cana and Jesus.”
“At this point the Franciscans were managing Christian pilgrimage and facilitating easy passage rather than historical accuracy.”
Dr McCollough believes the discoveries at Khirbet Qana could even bolster the case for the historicity of the Gospel of John.
He said: “Our excavations have shown that this was in fact a thriving Jewish village located in the heart of much of Jesus’s life and ministry.
“For the Gospel of John, Cana is in some ways, Jesus’s safe place or operational centre. It is a place He and His disciples return to when they encounter resistance in Judea.
“I would argue our excavations warrant at least a reconsideration of the historical value of John’s references to Cana and Jesus.”
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