No evidence, but UN says Jesus baptized on Jordan’s side of river, not Israel’s
(Worthy News) – For years, Christian pilgrims have waded into the Jordan River from both its eastern and western banks to connect with a core event of their faith — the baptism of Jesus. The parallel traditions allowed Jordan and Israel to compete for tourism dollars in marketing one of Christianity’s most important sites, the Times of Israel reported.
But now UNESCO has weighed in on the rivalry, designating Jordan’s baptismal area on the eastern bank a World Heritage Site. The UN cultural agency declared this month that the site “is believed to be” the location of Jesus’ baptism, based on what it said is a view shared by most Christian churches.
It ‘has nothing to do with archaeological reality,’ said Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‘We don’t have any sites with evidence or archaeological remains that were continuously venerated from the first century on.’ [ Source ]