http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7446812.stm
Jordan cave may be oldest church
By Matt McGrath
BBC science correspondent
Church of Saint George in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab 10
June. The cave is beneath the ancient church of St George
Archaeologists in Rihab, Jordan, say they have discovered a cave that
could be the world's oldest Christian church.
Dating to the period AD33-70, the underground chapel would have served
as both a place of worship and a home.
It is claimed that it was originally used by a group of 70 persecuted
Christians who fled from Jerusalem.
These early Christians lived and practised their faith in secrecy
until the Romans embraced Christianity several hundred years later.
'Beautiful things'
Rihab is in Northern Jordan. The cave is beneath the ancient church of
St Georgeous, itself one of the oldest known places of worship in the
world.
According to Dr Abdul Qader Al-Hassan, the director of the Rihab
Centre for Archaeological studies, the cave site shows clear evidence
of early Christian rituals that predate the church.
Rihab
Dr Al-Hassan says that steps lead down into the chapel which is
approximately 12m long and seven metres wide.
There is a circular area of worship with stone seats separated from
living quarters. This circular element, called an apse, is important
says Dr Al-Hassan because there is only one other example of a cave
with a similar feature, which was also used for Christian worship.
Dr Al-Hassan said: "We found beautiful things. I found the cemetery of
this church; we found pottery shards and lamps with the inscription
'Georgeous'" .
In the cave there is also a tunnel that leads to a cistern which
supplied water to the dwellers. An inscription in the floor of the
church above refers to the "70 beloved by God and the divine" whom the
archaeologist believes were refugees from religious persecution in
Jerusalem.
Dr Al-Hassan says that excavation of the tunnel and the cistern may
yield yet more evidence about the lives of these early Christians.
"From the tunnel to the cistern is very important. We want to clean it
and make an excavation inside it. We found a very old inscription
beside it and coins also, and crosses made from iron."
Other experts say they are cautious about the claim. They want to
examine the artefacts and see clear dating evidence. The earliest
confirmed examples of churches date from the third century, they say.