Now, of course, we don’t mean the sleigh-driving, reindeer-owning Santa but rather the early Christian bishop Saint Nicholas who inspired the jolly Christmas presenter-giver.
Situated in Demre, Antalya, Turkey, the St Nicholas Church has been an excavation site since 1989 for researchers, as it is believed to be the final resting place of Saint Nichols of Myra (now Demre), who passed away in 343 AD.
He was Greek, and he also inspired both Santa Claus and Sinterklaas, a similar Dutch festive figure.
Researchers have made a huge discovery (Zehra Tekeci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Saint Nicholas also gave secret gifts, leaving coins in people’s shoes – an overall good bloke, really.
But it looks like archaeologists have stumbled across something to do with the popular religious figure.
He died and was buried at the site of his church, though Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II requested that an even bigger church be built on the same site in his honour.
To preserve his remains, they were moved into a sarcophagus that was then placed at the new church.
Saint Nick’s remains already have a lot of history behind them, after his bones were taken from his sarcophagus by Italian thieves in 1087, while sailors also took the remaining bones during the first Crusade.
Though some bones were found in Bari and Venice that matched the same person, it is unclear if it belonged to the Saint, Heritage Daily reports.
A limestone sarcophagus was uncovered (Zehra Tekeci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
But now, in 2024, archaeologists have discovered something in the church’s two-story annexe – a limestone sarcophagus, and they believe it could belong to Saint Nicholas.
The dig was led by Ebru Fatma Findik, an Associate Professor at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University.
Researchers on site that were part of the ‘Legacy for the Future Project’ said that the stone coffin was six-feet deep, and only realised they were on a burial site when they uncovered animal bones and parts of clay lamps, the professor said to Turkiye Today.
It has not yet been confirmed if the coffin belongs to Santa Claus himself, as the location for his actual tomb has long been theorised about.
The coffin’s lid has been fully unearthed (Zehra Tekeci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Findik explained: “Some sources suggest that St. Nicholas was buried near the sacred area of the city of Myra.
“The fact that we have found a sarcophagus near the church, which is thought to house his tomb, may indicate that this is indeed the sacred area we have been searching for.
“This is a significant archaeological confirmation of historical sources regarding the burial place of St. Nicholas,” the researcher added.
So far though, only the lid has been unearthed, while a small section of the burian chamber is visible, as researchers keep searching for clues.
“Our biggest hope is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus,
“This would help clarify the burial contents and allow us to determine the exact period it dates to,” the Associate Professor highlighted, also saying that more details about their findings are expected going into the new year.
