Archaeologists find ‘John the Baptist’ cave

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found a cave in Israel where they believe John the Baptist anointed many of his disciples - a huge cistern with 28 steps leading to an underground pool of water.

During a tour of the cave, archaeologists presented ancient wall carvings they said tell the story of the fiery New Testament preacher, as well as a stone they believe was used for ceremonial foot washing.

They also pulled about 250,000 pottery shards from the cave, the apparent remnants of small water jugs used in baptismal ritual.