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In the dusty highlands of northern Ethiopia, a team of archaeologists recently uncovered the oldest known Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, a find that sheds new light on one of the Old World’s most enigmatic kingdoms—and its surprisingly early conversion to Christianity. An international assemblage of scientists discovered the church 30 miles northeast of Aksum, the capital of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading empire that emerged in the first century A.D. and would go on to dominate much of eastern Africa and western Arabia. Through radiocarbon dating artifacts uncovered at the church, the researchers concluded that the structure was built...

Archaeologists in Israel have announced the discovery of a large 1,500-year-old pool and elaborate fountain at the site of an ancient church near Jerusalem. The pool is part of a system of pools unearthed at Ein Hanniya Park between 2012 and 2016, officials said Wednesday. Built during the Byzantine era, the pools date back to between the 4th and 6th centuries A.D., according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Other artifacts found at the site include a rare silver coin from the 4th century B.C. and an ancient capital, or part of a pillar. Experts say that the capital is typical...

(Photo: Shoebat.com)An 1,800-year-old church being burnt to the ground in Mosul, Iraq. Members of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) reportedly torched a 1,800 year-old Catholic Church in Mosul, Iraq and have effectively left that city "empty of Christians" as believers fled the area in fear of their lives, according to Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako.Sources told Shoebat that the ISIS group in Mosul called "Daash" completely burned the Syriac Catholic Diocese and its contents in Mosul. A Chaldean, Syriac and Assyrian Website released photos of the church in flames Saturday.Free Sign Up CP Newsletter! RelatedISIL Members...

A Byzantine church has been discovered underneath Lake Ä°znik in Bursa, a province known as one of the most significant places in Turkey for Christians, reports Today's Zaman.The church is assumed to be St Peter's Church, which appears in many different sources of Christian history, although no evidence to support that has yet been found. Mustafa Åžahin, chair of UludaÄŸ University's department of archeology, said detailed research is being undertaken by Turkish experts on Byzantine history.'We will share the findings with the public as soon as we get detailed information,' Åžahin said. The church has been named one of...