[1/5] Religious imageries left by visitors are seen in an alcove in the wall of a cave that, according to The Israel Antiquities Authority is the 2000-year-old burial cave of Jesus' midwife, Salome in the Lachish Forest in Israel December 20, 2022.
REUTERS/Ammar AwadLACHISH FOREST, Israel Dec 20 (Reuters) - Excavations of a cave reputed to be the burial place of Salome, said in non-canonical scripture to have been nurse to the newborn Jesus, have found more signs it was both an important Jewish tomb and a Christian pilgrimage site, archaelogists say.
Stricken in one arm, she cradles the baby, proclaims him "a great king ... born unto Israel," and is cured.
The site, about 35 km (22 miles) southwest of Bethlehem, has been known for generations as the Cave of Salome.
Earlier excavations located Jewish relics "but the surprise was the adaptation of the cave into a Christian chapel," the IAA said.