Nativity scene spotted in 5,000-year-old rock art in the Sahara

A 5,000-year-old cave painting has been found in Egypt’s Sahara Desert that some have interpreted as the oldest nativity scene ever discovered: a newborn between its parents, two animals and a star in the east.

Reminiscent of the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, the prehistoric painting predates the biblical account by some 3,000 years. reports Arkeonews.

A team of Italian researchers discovered a painting inside a cavity, later dubbed the “Cave of Parents,” in the Egyptian Sahara during field expeditions between the Gilf el-Kebir plateau and the Nile Valley.

A newborn between parents, a star in the east and two animals are depicted in a rock painting. According to Seeker.com, this image was discovered on the ceiling of a small cavity in Egypt’s Sahara Desert. Researchers believe that the rock painting dates back to the Neolithic or Stone Age.

“It’s a very memorable scene that really feels like a nativity scene. But it predates it by about 3,000 years,” geologist Marco Morelli, director of the Museum of Planetary Sciences in Prato, Italy, told Seeker. The site reports that Morelli and his team discovered the cave paintings in 2005, but only made their findings public in 2016 under the name “Parents Cave.”

While there isn’t much information about the image and the original report is still elusive, the reported find is certainly intriguing.

The rock art, done in reddish-brown ochre, has several notable features: a headless lion – one of the titles of Jesus – the Lion of Judah – also headless lions were mythical in the Neolithic or New Stone Age in this part of the world, a baboon or monkey, a star set to the east , and the baby is slightly raised toward the sky, a position that could signify birth or pregnancy, Seeker reports.

Morelli and his team discovered the painting in 2005, but did not reveal their discovery to the public until 2016, without explaining the reason for the delay.

“The discovery has several implications, as it raises new questions about the iconography of one of the most powerful Christian symbols,” the geologist added. “We didn’t find scenes like this until early Christianity.”

The nativity scene is primarily based on the account of the birth of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew, which states that the three wise men followed a newly risen star that led them to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem.

The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel details the birth of Jesus and how his father and mother were denied entry into the inns in Bethlehem because the inns were overcrowded and they had to seek refuge in either a barn or a cave, where, according to Bible, Mary gave birth to Jesus.

“And Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family of David, to enroll with Mary his bride, who was with child. And while they were there, it was time for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4-7)

Although the exact month and day of Jesus’ birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had established Christmas on December 25th. While Eastern Christian churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 in the Julian calendar, which corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar, most Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar. Scholars of comparative religion argue that the date chosen corresponds to non-Abrahamic religious festivals that occurred on the winter solstice, such as the birth of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.