from Premier
Archaeologists in Turkey say new evidence has strengthened the possibility that they have identified the remains of a church associated with the First Council of Nicaea, one of the most significant gatherings in Christian history.
Researchers resumed excavations in July at an ancient church complex on the shore of Lake İznik, in the modern Turkish town that was known in antiquity as Nicaea.
Mustafa Şahin, who is leading the excavation, said the latest work had uncovered flooring apparently belonging to an earlier building beneath the remains of the later church.
The site has been identified as the Church of St Neophytos, which researchers believe was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 368. The Church of the Holy Fathers was subsequently built there around AD 380, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
Archaeologists have been investigating whether an earlier structure at the site could have been connected to the First Council of Nicaea, held in AD 325.