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The Cave of John the Baptist: The Stunning Archaeological Discovery that has Redefined Christian History

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In the first part of "The Cave of John the Baptist" Shimon Gibson tells the story of an excavation to uncover a very interesting cave located in the hills outside of Jerusalem. While the evidence he uses to prove his claim that John the Baptist used this cave for baptismal purposes after going into the wilderness seems inconclusive, he is able to show that the cave was in use during (and long before, actually) the first century AD. Whether you agree with the conclusions he draws regarding the cave's use or not, as an archaeological study its discussion is well worth the read, as is the accompanying historical analysis.

The second part of the book is a discussion of holy sites and relics of the Holy Land, including those of the Muslim faith, relating to the life and death of John the Baptist. Gibson cites the contemporary writings of many travellers to these ancient sites, ranging from third and fourth century pilgrims to such people as Mark Twain. (Apparently Mark Twain found the trip to be very boring and dusty.) The discussion of extant Holy Relics of John is amusing as well as interesting, as Gibson lists "nineteen heads...and something in the order of fifteen hands or arms..." Gibson relates the story of British archaeologist Peter Dorrell, who on a visit to the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus mentioned to the caretaker of the shrine of the Head of John the Baptist that other sites also claimed to have the Head of the Baptist; the response was "Ah yes, but ours is the Head of John the Baptist as a young man!"

Whether or not you agree with Gibson's conclusions regarding The Baptist's use of the cave, if you have an interest in archaeology or the history of the Middle East from Roman to Medieval times you will find "The Cave of John the Baptist" to be worth your while.

Shimon Gibson does a fine job of presenting this very interesting and significant discovery. He takes the reader through the lengthy process of physically and mentally excavating the cave. The mental excavation is the most interesting part.

Gibson draws together threads of information about John the Baptist from a wide range of historical sources, including Jewish and Christian Scriptures, Josephus, Christian tradition and contemporary archaeology.

The result is a surprisingly full picture of a man who tried to leave no personal footprints. He saw himself as a forerunner for another. Yet his radical use of baptism as a sign of repentence, apart from the Temple rituals, left an enduring legacy. He helped Christianity (and possibly Judaism) move away from reliance upon Mosaic ceremonies, and towards a focus on personal morality and faith.

There is much information packed in this book. Some of it is much too detailed to hold the interest of a casual reader; some descriptions are so detailed and precise that they could easily be expected in a professional publication. Although the main focus is the excavation of a cave thought to have been used for religious ceremonies millennia ago, much related history is presented. Overall, the reader who is interested in biblical archaeology, early Christianity and the history of the Holy Land will learn much from this book. The writing is clear, but as stated above, a bit too detailed in places. Whether the cave in question was ever used by John the Baptist has not been proven (at least in my opinion), but the methodology used in trying to understand its past is indeed quite intriguing.

I firmly believe the archeologist has found the cave of John the Baptist, because the authors arguements and concrete proof seems valid beyond a "shadow of a doubt."
Who else in history, would have used a ritual enclave complete with extra wide stairs to accomodate a multitude of people, which lead down to a large baptistry --
than John the Baptist?
It is my belief that attendees of Jewish mikvah's do not go en-mass to a mikvah for ceremonial cleansing, thereby there would not be the necessity for such wide staircases as found in this cave!

(I read it last fall and in reviewing my notes--)still laughing at the comment on page 306 "There are so many heads of John the Baptist in churches and monasteries at different locations in the Near East, as well as in Meditterranean countries and in Europe, that one loses track of them all after a while. Since it is obvious that John the Baptist could not have possessed more than one head, it naturally means that all but one must be forgeries." Get a "HEAD" start on your Biblical archeology with this book!

The proposition that the Ain Karim outside Kibbutz Tzova near Jerusalem was the "Cave of John the Baptist" essentially rests on two pillars:

1) Traditional texts dating back to the third century and

2) Evidence unearthed from the site itself purportedly showing a similar use nature to that of a mikvah.

As to the first pillar, the evidence is deficient because the text evidence fails to pierce that early Constantinian period when local residents of the Holy Land made a cottage industry of disclosing supposedly ancient sites of Christian veneration. Indeed if this site were ultimately deemed someday to be authentically linked to a historical John the Baptist, it would be unique among the major sites of Christian antiquity in that it would have no pre third century textual evidence associated with it.

As to the second pillar, the author basically says that the site was a cave with an area for putting things in water that could then be eliminated by the natural flow of the water itself. In this regard, the author details how the site fails to show any first century preparations necessary to maintaining the purity of the water, the absence of any coinage at the site and the presence of pottery shards demonstrating that the area was used for ritual cleansing of vessels. These things are supposed to show that the area was used as a mikvah or area of ritual emersion. In reality, however, the site more resembles a first century latrine.

While a more thorough review might prompt a re-analysis, the case presented in this book for attaching this site to John the Baptist is sketchy.

This book embodies what is good and bad in modern Biblical scholarship. The exploration of the cave was done with precision and valuable artifacts were discovered. However a wall painting identified as "serpent on a staff" is obviously the symbol of the Brazen Serpent. I find it hard to believe that the authors didn't immediately recognize what this is. But that would challenge the myth that 1st century Judaism was coherent and monotheistic. It would also suggest that John was at odds with the Jerusalem temple--which some people still refuse to grasp. Certainly it suggests that Jesus was involved in the worship of the Brazen Serpent, a minor sect of Judaism, through his association with John.

According to a review in the Biblical Archaeology Review magazine (Nov.-Dec. 2004 issue), this book's "imaginative speculations clearly fail".