Archaeologists have claimed to have identified the site where Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, following excavations at Bethany beyond the Jordan in present-day Jordan.
The site is located on the eastern bank of the River Jordan, about five miles north of the Dead Sea, and has been the subject of debate among scholars and religious historians for centuries.
According to GB News on Tuesday, Professor Mohammad Waheeb of Jordan’s Hashemite University based his findings on ruins excavated between 1996 and 2002, comparing them with accounts left by ancient travellers and pilgrims.
The study was published in the Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies.
“The excavations have revealed the true place where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist on the east bank of the river Jordan,” Waheeb wrote.
The excavations, which spanned more than six years, uncovered churches, baptismal pools, prayer halls and water systems, suggesting that the area served as a centre for early Christian worship.
Waheeb linked the archaeological findings to historical accounts describing religious buildings and a monastery near the location identified as the baptism site.
Two accounts, written centuries ago by travellers who visited the region, formed part of the evidence supporting his claim.
The Pilgrim of Bordeaux, writing in AD 333, and Theodosius, writing in AD 530, both placed the baptism site about five miles from where the River Jordan flows into the Dead Sea.
“From the site where the Lord was baptised, to the site where the river Jordan pours into the Dead Sea, there are five miles,” Theodosius wrote.
According to the report, the distance corresponds with the location of the excavated remains, providing a geographical link between the historical descriptions and the archaeological findings.
Waheeb also argued that uncertainty over the location was partly linked to Origen, an early Christian scholar who reportedly could not find the riverside settlement and proposed that the relevant Gospel passage should refer to Bethabara, a name associated with the western bank.
The report said most manuscripts available to Origen used the name Bethany.
The distinction between two biblical locations called Bethany is central to Waheeb’s argument.
One is near Jerusalem and is associated with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, while the other, Bethany beyond the Jordan, is identified in John 1:28 as the place where John the Baptist carried out his ministry.
Waheeb also cited the Madaba Mosaic Map, a fifth- or sixth-century depiction of biblical sites, arguing that its separate labels for locations on either side of the Jordan support the view that Bethany beyond the Jordan and Bethabara were distinct places.
The archaeological site is near Tell Mar Elyas, also known as Elijah’s Hill, in Wadi al-Kharrar.
This area has natural springs, an oasis and vegetation along the valley leading to the River Jordan, with Jericho visible on the opposite bank.
The excavations uncovered remains from the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic periods.
Waheeb distinguished evidence of first-century habitation from religious buildings constructed in later periods.
He wrote, “These remains indicate that the area was inhabited during the time of John the Baptist and Jesus.”
Changes in the river’s course over the centuries could explain why some structures now stand on dry ground rather than beside flowing water. Seasonal flooding and shifting channels may have left buildings originally constructed close to the river stranded or destroyed.
The study concluded, “The results obtained are consistent with the accounts of ancient pilgrims, the Madaba map, and the Holy Scriptures.”