Relics 'could be of John the Baptist'

A knucklebone claimed to be of John the Baptist has been dated as first century AD by Oxford researchers. The new dating evidence supports claims that bones found under a church floor in Bulgaria may be of the leading prophet and relative of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. The research by the Oxford University team will be explored in a documentary 'Head of John the Baptist' to be aired in the UK on National Geographic Channel on Sunday 17 June. A team from the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at Oxford University dated a knucklebone from the right hand. The researchers were surprised when they discovered the very early age of the remains adding, however, that dating evidence alone cannot prove the bones to be of John the Baptist. The bones were originally discovered in 2010 by archaeologist Kazimir Popkonstantinov, excavating under an ancient church on an island in Bulgaria known as Sveti Ivan, which translates into English as St John. The knucklebone was one of six human bones, including a tooth and the face part of a cranium, found in small marble sarcophagus under the floor near the altar.