The image was obscured by centuries of dirt.
Art historian Emma Maayan-Fanar was conducting an archaeological examination of the ruins of Shivta, in the Israeli Negev Desert, when she noticed a pair of eyes peeking out at her from a dirt-encrusted wall. Careful cleaning would reveal an ancient depiction of Christ’s baptism. The find is considered “extremely rare” because early Christian images of Christ are practically non-existent in Israel.
“His face is right there, looking at us,” Maayan-Fanar spoke of the discovery with Haaretz. “I was there at the right time, at the right place with the right angle of light and, suddenly, I saw eyes. It was the face of Jesus at His baptism, looking at us.”