“Herod had put John in chains… when Herod heard him, he was greatly perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.”
— Mark 6:17–20
The Site
The historical place, where Princess Salome danced and Saint John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded is Machaerus.
This information that complements the Gospels is not simply based on the holy tradition of the Christian churches, but founded on the 1st century account of Josephus Antiquitates Judaicae XVIII.5.2, the Philo-Roman Jewish historian of the Imperial Flavian Dynasty in Rome. This written evidence was also confirmed by the related reference in the Ecclesiastical History I.11.4–6 of Eusebius of Caesarea (in ca. 324) as well.
The historical data of the Antiquitates on John's arrest and jail by Tetrarch Herod Antipas is attested by all the Gospels, and their accounts are consistent with and complement that of Josephus.
Excavation
The archaeological excavations on the historical site are directed by Prof. Dr. Győző Vörös since 2009 on behalf of the Hungarian Academy of Arts and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, in close scientific collaboration with three academic institutions:
- Studium Biblicum Franciscanum — Jerusalem
- École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem
- Cobb Institute of Archaeology — Mississippi State University