Israel Antiquities Authority

A flood of information. The accidental bulldozing of a filled cistern further up the slope from the burial cave gave the investigators additional evidence of the site’s Christian nature. The deluge washed away the chapel’s benches and revealed a cache of oil lamps, including the ones shown here, that had been placed there as votive offerings. Several lamps had no traces of soot on their nozzles, indicating that they had never been used. Crosses and palm leaves—two popular Christian symbols—are the primary decorative motifs.