A remarkable find has been announced at the Church of the Nativity, which Christians believe marks the location of Jesus Christ’s birthplace. Experts who have been working on restoring the have announced the discovery of a 1500-year-old baptismal font. This dates to the Byzantine era and was curiously found enclosed in a later baptismal font. The discovery is expected to help experts better understand the history and development of the site which dates to the Roman Empire.

The Church of the Nativity is located in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and is approximately 7 miles (10 kilometers) south of Jerusalem. It was built on the orders of Emperor Constantine in 330 AD, as a place of worship to honor the birth of Christ whom Christians and the Bible hold to be the son of God.

The church is the oldest site of worship of Christianity that’s been in constant use, and it forms part of a larger religious complex, which includes three monasteries of different Christian denominations. In the church, there is a silver star that marks the purported spot where Jesus was born, which is surrounded by lamps representing the various Christian churches.

more at ancient-origins.net