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Both Tabor and Gibson said it was very likely that the wall carvings, including one showing a man with a staff and wearing animal skin, told the story of John the Baptist. The carvings stem from the Byzantine period and apparently were made by monks in the fourth or fifth century.

Circumstantial evidence?
Gibson said he believed the monks commemorated John at a site linked to him by local tradition.

Gibson said the carvings, the foot-washing stone and other finds, taken together with the proximity of John’s hometown, constituted strong circumstantial evidence that the cave was used by John.

It also may be possible that this cave was used by followers of John the Baptist and was never visited by him (or Jesus). The Gospel account seems to indicate that John ceded his ministry to Jesus with his acknowledgment that "it is you who should be baptizing me", but not all of John's followers might have accepted that. It is quite possible that many followed the practices established by John for a number of generations after his death.

The image we get from the Gospels is a "voice crying in the wilderness"; a man who baptized in natural bodies of water (especially the Jordan River)in the open air, and showed scant concern for physical appearances or ritual objects. There's a spontaneous feel to his ministry.

But it is entirely possible that his followers -- as followers are wont to do -- created a more formalized liturgy consistent with their understanding of the Baptist's ministry and practices.

Even if the discovers may have overstated their case somewhat, this is nonetheless a spectacular find and one I hope reawakens interest in the Gospel accounts of John's ministry and its fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Our Lord.

Thanks for the ping. There's not really any way to prove that he used it, in fact there's hardly any imaginable way it could be proved (short of having his mummified remains and ancient DNA samples at this site in the article), but as you said, strong circumstantial evidence. The Byzantines were not pros though, and IMHO screwed up the sites of the Cities of the Plain, among other things.