The Guardian reporters reported an interesting find in Turkey. Local archaeologists have discovered the grave of Nicholas the Wonderworker, who is the prototype of the fabulous Santa Claus. The priest was called the helper of poor families, because it was believed that he gave them secret gifts.
Using georadars, scientists searched the Turkish city of Demre. They managed to find an ancient temple under the Church of St. Nicholas, well preserved, and the voids themselves with the remains of the body of Nicholas the Wonderworker. Access to the remains is still closed to researchers due to possible damage to mosaics and bas-reliefs. Nevertheless, archaeologists are confident that in the near future they will be able to pave the way to the tomb without harming the ancient architecture.
Many modern scholars suggest that the body of St. Nicholas was buried in a church in Demre in 343, and after seven centuries it was illegally transported by merchants to the city of Bari in Italy. Archaeologists from Turkey claim that then the bones of an unknown priest were removed, and the real saint remained in his grave.
Note that more than one and a half million people in Moscow bowed to the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker. Now scientists have questioned the fact that believers worship the relics of St. Nicholas, and not an unknown priest.