Each cross was their way of saying: I believe this story
En las laderas del monte Hermón, donde los manantiales brotan desde tiempos inmemoriales, arqueólogos de la Universidad de Haifa han desenterrado los restos de una iglesia que parece haber sido construida para honrar uno de los milagros más íntimos del Nuevo Testamento. El hallazgo, situado en Banias —la antigua Cesarea de Filipo—, vincula la historia geológica del lugar con la memoria religiosa de una mujer que, según los textos bíblicos y el testimonio del historiador bizantino Eusebio, erigió un monumento junto a las aguas para conmemorar su curación. Así, la piedra tallada con cruces hacia el año 400 d.C. y el suelo hundido por terremotos revelan cómo la fe y la naturaleza han moldeado juntas el destino de un lugar sagrado.
- La excavación en Banias ha sacado a la luz ruinas de una iglesia cuya ubicación exacta junto a manantiales naturales coincide con las descripciones del historiador bizantino Eusebio, lo que intensifica la credibilidad del hallazgo.
- Las rocas marcadas con cruces, datadas alrededor del año 400 d.C., sugieren que durante siglos peregrinos acudieron al lugar dejando su huella como testimonio de devoción, convirtiendo el sitio en un destino de peregrinación activo.
- A diferencia de una basílica de culto regular, la estructura parece haber sido concebida como santuario conmemorativo de un evento milagroso específico, lo que la distingue de otra iglesia excavada en la misma región hace tres décadas.
- Un terremoto hundió parte del edificio casi un metro bajo tierra, y aunque se intentó una segunda fase constructiva, el sitio fue finalmente abandonado, posiblemente en coincidencia con la expansión del islam y el declive de la presencia cristiana en la región.
- Hoy, el trabajo paciente de los arqueólogos devuelve la voz a un silencio de siglos, recomponiendo la historia de un lugar donde la memoria de la curación quedó inscrita en la piedra antes de que la tierra misma lo reclamara.
En las faldas del monte Hermón, donde los manantiales naturales dan vida al paisaje de los Altos del Golán, arqueólogos de la Universidad de Haifa han descubierto los restos de una iglesia que pudo haber sido construida para conmemorar uno de los milagros más personales del Nuevo Testamento: la curación de una mujer que padecía hemorragias crónicas y que, al tocar el manto de Jesús, quedó sanada al instante.
El hallazgo tiene su ancla en un detalle histórico preciso. El cronista bizantino Eusebio documentó que la mujer, agradecida, mandó erigir una estatua en una iglesia cercana a los manantiales de Cesarea de Filipo. Esa referencia al agua fue la clave que orientó a los investigadores modernos: las ruinas aparecieron exactamente donde los textos indicaban, junto a las fuentes naturales. Entre los restos se encontraron rocas con cruces talladas hacia el año 400 d.C., marcas dejadas por peregrinos que durante generaciones trataron aquel suelo como sagrado.
La profesora Adi Erlich, al frente de la investigación, señaló que el edificio no parece haber funcionado como basílica de culto ordinario, sino como santuario dedicado a un acontecimiento singular. Esta distinción lo diferencia de otra iglesia excavada en la misma zona hace treinta años y lo acerca más al relato histórico conocido.
Sin embargo, la tierra no fue un custodio benévolo. Un terremoto provocó el hundimiento de parte de la estructura —cerca de un metro bajo el suelo—, un daño del que el edificio nunca se recuperó del todo. Una segunda fase constructiva intentó prolongar su vida, pero el sitio acabó siendo abandonado, quizás en paralelo al avance del islam y al retroceso de la presencia cristiana en la región, aunque Erlich reconoce que esta interpretación sigue siendo especulativa.
Lo que emerge de esta excavación es una historia de fe y geología entrelazadas: peregrinos que marcaron la piedra para decir que habían estado allí, y una tierra que con el tiempo los silenció. Ahora, la arqueología rompe ese silencio y devuelve al presente la memoria de un lugar donde alguien quiso que el mundo recordara su curación.
In the foothills of Mount Hermon, where natural springs feed the landscape of the Golan Heights, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a church that may have been built to commemorate one of the New Testament's most intimate miracles. The site sits at Banias, the ancient Cesarea de Filipo, and researchers from the University of Haifa believe they have found physical evidence of where Jesus healed a woman who had suffered from chronic bleeding.
The discovery centers on a specific biblical account: a woman whose condition had persisted for years despite every available treatment, who in desperation touched the hem of Jesus's garment and was instantly cured. Byzantine historian Eusebio recorded that the woman, grateful for her healing, erected a statue in a church near the springs of Cesarea de Filipo to commemorate what had happened to her. That detail—the proximity to water sources—became the key that guided modern excavators to their find.
What the team uncovered were church ruins positioned precisely near the natural springs, exactly where the historical account suggested they should be. Among the remains were rocks bearing crosses, carved into stone sometime around 400 A.D. These marks almost certainly came from pilgrims who visited the site over centuries, treating it as sacred ground. The crosses themselves became a form of testimony, each one a visitor's way of saying: I was here, I believed, I marked this place.
Professor Adi Erlich, leading the research, noted that another church had been excavated in the same region three decades earlier. But the newly discovered structure fits the historical narrative more convincingly. Its design suggests it functioned as a monument rather than a functioning basilica for regular worship—a shrine built to honor a specific event rather than to serve a congregation. The distinction matters: it aligns with what we know about how early Christians marked sites of miraculous healing.
The building itself tells a story of decline written in stone and earth. The first phase of construction was struck by an earthquake powerful enough to cause significant structural failure. Roughly a meter of the building sank into the ground, damage from which it never recovered. A second phase of construction followed, but that too was eventually abandoned. Erlich suggested the abandonment may have coincided with the broader shift in the region's religious landscape—the rise of Islam and the gradual decline of Christian presence—though he acknowledged this remains speculation based on the archaeological evidence alone.
What emerges from this excavation is a layered history of faith and geology, of belief meeting the forces that reshape the earth. For nearly two thousand years, pilgrims made their way to this spot, drawn by a story of healing and the woman who wanted the world to remember it. They left their marks in stone. Then the earth itself intervened, and the shrine fell silent. Now, in the careful work of excavation and interpretation, that silence is being broken again.
Citas Notables
We suggest that the church found by us could be the one related to the miracle— Professor Adi Erlich, University of Haifa
The structure is more that of a monument than a basilica for religious services— Professor Adi Erlich
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does the location matter so much to the researchers? Couldn't this church have been built anywhere?
The Byzantine historian Eusebio wrote that the woman built her memorial near the springs of Cesarea de Filipo. That detail is everything. When archaeologists found church ruins at exactly that location—near the water sources—it transformed the site from a possibility into something much more credible.
So the water was the address, in a way.
Precisely. And the crosses carved into the rocks suggest pilgrims understood the significance too. They came to this place because they believed something sacred had happened there. Each cross was their way of saying: yes, I believe this story, and I was here.
The earthquake damage—does that tell us anything about when people stopped coming?
It tells us the building was vulnerable. After the quake, roughly a meter of the structure sank. They tried to rebuild, but eventually it was abandoned. Whether that was because of the earthquake itself or because the religious landscape was changing—Islam rising, Christianity declining—we can't say for certain. But the building's deterioration and the region's religious shift happened in roughly the same period.
What makes this church different from the other one excavated thirty years ago?
The structure itself. The newer find looks like a monument—a shrine built to honor a specific miracle—rather than a basilica designed for regular worship and gatherings. That distinction matters because it matches what we'd expect if this was indeed the memorial the woman built.
So the stones themselves are evidence of intention.
Yes. Architecture is a form of testimony. How a building is designed tells you what it was meant to do.