St. Paul’s sarcophagus found
Vatican archeologists believe that they have identified the tomb in Rome’s St Paul Outside the Walls [S. Paolo fuori le mura] basilica, following the discovery of a stone coffin during excavations carried out over the past three years. The effort was guided by 19th-century plans for the basilica, which was largely rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1823. An initial survey enabled archeologists to reconstruct the shape of the original basilica, built early in the 4th century. A second excavation, under the main altar of the basilica, brought the Vatican team to the sarcophagus, which was located on what would have been ground level for the original 4th-century building, brilliantly hidden behind a marble plaque that reads, "Apostle Paul, martyr."
"The tomb that we discovered is the one that the popes and the Emperor Theodosius (379-395) saved and presented to the whole world as being the tomb of the apostle," says archeologist Giorgio Filippi, but "nobody ever thought to look behind that plaque". I’m not sure if archeologists are getting lazy, or maybe all the good stuff has already been found, but I don’t know how finding a coffin where the tombstone is qualifies as news. Nor do I know why someone is digging up an apostle; fame, relics, DNA sample?
Archeologists discover St. Paul’s tomb, Catholic News.
Tomb of St. Paul found?