TZOVA, Aug 16: A British archaeologist has dug up evidence linking John the Baptist to a cave used for bathing rituals in hills near Jerusalem in what he said could be one of the biggest recent finds for Christian history.

Shimon Gibson, who has been digging in the Holy Land for nearly three decades, said he believed the cave, hewn 24 metres deep into a rocky hillside, might also have been visited by Jesus as well as New Testament preacher John.

Discovered by Gibson in 1999, excavations at the cave since then have revealed a large bathing pool as well as objects used for anointing rituals that would be quite different from those used by most Jews there nearly 2,000 years ago.

Gibson, 45, said evidence of specific links to John at the site came from drawings made 400 to 500 years later, which portrayed him in a similar way to other Byzantine art. One of the pictures also showed John's severed head.

"Nothing like this has been found elsewhere," Gibson said. "It is the first time we have finds from the early baptismal period ... It is an amazing discovery that happens to an archaeologist once in a lifetime."

The discovery, 15 minutes drive into hills west of Jerusalem, is due to be announced officially on Tuesday, ahead of the launch of a book by Gibson. Any discovery of sites linked to the Bible is certain to stir controversy and its share of scepticism, but Gibson said he had carried out many tests to satisfy himself that his theory was sound. -Reuters