One of the earliest depictions of Jesus may have been discovered in an ancient tomb.
The image was found painted on an ancient Egyptian wall in the city of Oxyrhynchus, Discovery News reported.
"The figure of a young man, with curly hair, dressed in a short tunic and with his hand raised as if giving a blessing," Egyptologist Josep Padró said, The Huffington Post reported. "We could be dealing with a very early image of Jesus Christ," he said.
The tombs that the image was discovered in date back to the sixth and seventh centuries, the Huffington Post reported. The wall also contains depictions of plants and inscriptions written in the ancient Coptic language.
The structure containing the painting was located in a processional route that connects the Nile with a temple for worship of Osiris, Discovery News reported.
The team had to remove 45 tons of stone in order to reach the painting. The crypt measured 26 feet long and was 12 feet deep.
The walls of the crypt were coated with between five and six layers of paint; the oldest layer was believed to have been painted on during the Coptic period of early Christians.
"In order to carry out future campaigns, it is necessary to excavate an attached structure. A flight of well worn stairs give access to it, but researchers do not know its content yet," the University of Barcelona said in a statement, Discovery News reported.
Researchers are currently working to translate the inscriptions while keeping the painting under tight protection, the Huffington Post reported.
Back in 2011 a 2,000 year old booklet was found near the Sea of Galilee. The object was believed to hold the earliest depiction of Jesus Christ. The booklet was inscribed with the words "Savior of Israel," but some think the object is a sham.
