Turkish Archaeologists Claim to Discover Sarcophagus of Santa Claus

Archaeologists from Turkey recently claimed the discovery of what they believed as the sarcophagus of the influential Christian figure St. Nicholas, who became the basis of the Christmas icon Santa Claus.

The excavations were done at a church complex in the Turkish town of Demre dedicated to the Greek bishop who became famous for hitting the Christian heretic Arius during the Council of Nicea. It is understood that the site has been under excavation since 1989.

Demre is the modern Turkish name of the ancient town of Myra, where Nicholas was bishop during his lifetime.

Tomb of Santa Claus Discovered?

It is understood that the dig was part of the “Legacy for the Future” project initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Mustafa Kemal University (MKU) in Hatay. 

The sarcophagus was described as made out of local limestone, is two meters in length, has a raised lid and pitched roof, and was buried up to two meters deep. Archaeologists allegedly found the sarcophagus very close to the Greco-Roman basilica which is now a museum, strengthening the claim that it was Nicholas’s original resting place.

“Our biggest hope is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus,” MKU associate professor and project lead Ebru Fatma Findik told Türkiye Today. “This would help clarify the burial contents and allow us to determine the exact period it dates from.”

Findik added that previous digs uncovered several pieces of animal bones and pottery, solidifying their claim that they have discovered a burial site, but the complete uncovering of Nicholas’s tomb may take several months.

St. Nicholas has been the subject of several legends solidifying his connotation with Christmas and secret generosity, which modern culture now recognizes as the personification of Santa Claus. 

It was said that Nicholas intervened in several stories, including him allegedly giving dowries to a man’s three daughters to have them wedded off and save them from working as prostitutes. Nicholas was also recorded to have traveled the Holy Land, and eventually made his way to Bethlehem, the traditional site of Jesus Christ’s birth. A church in the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Jala now stands on top of the crypt that was said to have been his lodging when he was there.

According to tradition, Nicholas died on Dec. 6, 343 AD.

Disputes on Where St. Nicholas was Buried

Ever since his veneration as a Christian saint, the issue of Nicholas’s resting place has been disputed between the island of Gemile (roughly in between the major cities of Izmir and Antalya) and Myra (now Demre). Historical claims noted that Nicholas was originally buried in Gemile, given his status as the patron saint of seafarers, but the threat of Arab raids meant his relics were translated to Myra, where, according to claims, a clear, watery liquid substance with the fragrance of myrrh came out of the sarcophagus. 

When Myra itself went under Saracen control, Christians from the Italian town of Bari made claims that Nicholas chose their town as his resting place while on his way to Rome, prompting them to smuggle the relics, which a majority of it currently reside in the town along the Adriatic coast. 

St. Nicholas Church in Demre was added to UNESCO’s Tentative Heritage List in 2000. Findik stressed that the discovery of what was said to be Nicholas’s sarcophagus near the church dedicated to him solidified Demre’s claim as the original burial site of the saint and could influence its consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

“This is a significant archaeological confirmation of historical sources regarding the burial place of St. Nicholas,” he said.