The remains of an Eastern Roman monk were found bound with iron chains around the neck, hands, and feet, likely due to extreme ascetic practices.
Archaeologists discovered the remains of a man bound with iron chains in a church at the Khirbat el-Masani archaeological site, north of Jerusalem, as reported by Ancient Origins on January 4. The church is part of a monastery uncovered by a team of experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Additionally, this monastery also served as a resting place for pilgrims.
The chained remains of an Eastern Roman monk excavated at Khirbat el Masani. (Photo: IAA).
The remains were found in a tomb next to two small sealed chambers in the central area of the church, belonging to an Eastern Roman monk who died approximately 1,500 years ago. The monk was bound with iron rings around his neck, hands, and feet. It is likely that this individual engaged in extreme asceticism.
The practice of asceticism to attain salvation or atone for oneself and others is emphasized in traditional Christianity. This process includes fasting and abstaining from pleasures. The first Christian hermits and ascetics primarily lived in the Scetes desert, a region of Roman Egypt.
Over time, more extreme forms of asceticism developed in Eastern Christianity, particularly in Syria around the 4th and 5th centuries. These practices included behaviors such as solitary confinement, chaining the body to stones or in cells, subsisting solely on grass, inflicting pain on the body, abandoning personal hygiene, and voluntarily enduring suffering.
Experts have found archaeological evidence of the spread of these extreme behaviors southward, at least as far as Jerusalem, during the Eastern Roman Empire’s reign from 313 to 636. Christianity became popular in ancient Israel during this period, and many churches arose in Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Galilee.
However, the discovery of chained remains at Khirbat el-Masani is quite unusual. This is only the second instance of chained remains found around Jerusalem, indicating that the practice of chaining as a form of extreme asceticism was not common in this area.
