The Church of St. Nicholas in Antalya, Türkiye has long been believed to be the burial site of Saint Nicholas, but recent excavations have finally unearthed a sarcophagus which archaeologists believe may have belonged to the saint who inspired Santa.
Saint Nicholas was a Greek Christian bishop born in the third century C.E., who lived in the ancient maritime city of Myra until his death in 343 C.E, who was known for his generosity. Nicholas is best-known for the tale in which he dropped bags of gold coins through a window into the home of family fallen on hard times, saving the family’s three daughters from destitution by providing enough gold for a dowry for each of the girls. This story of secret gift-giving became the inspiration for Santa Claus (deriving from the Dutch Sinter Klaas, a variation on Sint Nikolaas). This story saw Nicholas become the patron saint of children, unmarried women, and toymakers. He is also patron saint of sailors based on stories of his miraculous calming of a sea storm, the patron saint of the wrongly accused after saving three innocent soldiers from execution, and patron saint of coopers thanks to a tale in which the Saint brought three children back to life who had been pickled in brine.
A limestone sarcophagus is uncovered during excavations at St. Nicholas Church in Demre district of Antalya, Turkiye on December 6, 2024. Photo by Zehra Tekeci/Anadolu via Getty Images.
The sarcophagus was found around six feet beneath the church’s mosaic floor and is made of limestone. It measures around 6.5 feet in length and features a pitched roof and raised lid. It is only the top half of the sarcophagus that has been fully unearthed so far and excavations are set to continue for a number of months. The discovery of lamps and animal bones in the vicinity of the sarcophagus led researchers towards the conclusion that the area had been a historical burial site.
The Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Antalya, was built in the 5th century on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor, over the top of the Saint’s original burial place in the church where he had served as bishop. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982 and contains several frescoes and statues of its namesake Saint.
Archaeologists have been working in the Church since 1989 and the discovery of the sarcophagus comes as part of a two-year study within the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Legacy for the Future Project” which is focussed on safeguarding and restoring Türkiye’s historical landmarks.
A view of the murals in St. Nicholas Church and Museum, built in the 6th century, on the burial place of the 4th century Christian bishop St. Nicholas (the inspiration of Santa Claus) located in Demre district of Antalya, Turkiye on July 05, 2023. Photo by Suleyman Elcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.
Speaking to Türkiye Today, a major Turkish online news outlet, lead Professor Ebru Fatma Findik from Hatay Mustafa Kemal University in Antakya in southern Türkiye said their “biggest hope” is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus, which would “help clarify the burial contents and allow us to determine the exact period it dates from”.
“Some sources suggest that St. Nicholas was buried near the sacred area of the city of Myra. The fact that we have found a sarcophagus near the church, which is thought to house his tomb, may indicate that this is indeed the sacred area we have been searching for. This is a significant archaeological confirmation of historical sources regarding the burial place of St. Nicholas,” said Findik.
As is typical for the bodies of Saints, Saint Nicholas’ remains were highly coveted, and in the 11th century his bones were said to have been stolen by sailors and brought to an Southern Italian church in Bari dedicated to the Saint (with further remains were taken to a Venetian church in the same century). The bones at both locations were proven to belong to the same person when examined in 1953, although it cannot be substantiated who the bones truly belonged to. The remains are still kept in the San Nicola basilica in Bari, which fames itself on being “where Santa Claus is buried“, and which is visited by thousands of international visitors each year.