Researchers in Jordan have asserted that they have located the precise spot where John the Baptist immersed Jesus in the River Jordan. According to Punch, this area lies on the eastern bank of the river, roughly five miles north of the Dead Sea. The location has long been contested by scholars, with confusion partly stemming from the early Christian writer Origen. Origen reportedly failed to find the riverside settlement and suggested the biblical text might refer to Bethabara, a name associated with the western bank, rather than Bethany.
The claim rests on a study by Professor Mohammad Waheeb of Jordan’s Hashemite University, published in the Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies. Waheeb analysed ruins uncovered during digs between 1996 and 2002, cross-referencing them with records from ancient travellers. The excavation revealed structures such as churches, baptismal pools, and water systems, indicating the area served as a hub for early Christian worship. Waheeb distinguished evidence of first-century habitation from later religious architecture, arguing the site was occupied during the lifetime of Jesus and John the Baptist.
Geographical evidence supports the scholar’s conclusion. Two ancient writers, the Pilgrim of Bordeaux from AD 333 and Theodosius from AD 530, described the baptism site as being five miles from the river’s entry into the Dead Sea. Waheeb noted this distance matches the excavated remains. He also referenced the Madaba Mosaic Map, a late antique depiction of biblical geography. The map labels locations on both sides of the Jordan separately, which Waheeb used to argue that Bethany beyond the Jordan and Bethabara were distinct places, not synonyms for the same spot.
The site is situated near Tell Mar Elyas, or Elijah’s Hill, in the Wadi al-Kharrar valley. This region features springs and vegetation, with Jericho visible across the water. The study concluded that the archaeological results align with ancient pilgrim accounts and scriptural descriptions. Waheeb suggested that shifting river channels and seasonal floods may have left some buildings on dry land, explaining why they are no longer adjacent to the water.