Archaeologist claims ancient ruins in Jordan reveal the 'true place' where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist

Professor Mohammad Waheeb of Hashemite University places the spot at Bethany beyond the Jordan, on the river's eastern bank. Two ancient travellers, the Pilgrim of Bordeaux in AD 333 and Theodosius in AD 530, both put it five miles from the Dead Sea. Ruins dug up between 1996 and 2002 sit at exactly that distance. His study appears in the Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies.

Digs unearthed churches, baptismal pools, prayer halls, mosaics and elaborate water systems.

Waheeb rejects rival Bethabara on the western bank, citing John 1:28.

Researchers found signs people lived at the site, now Al-Maghtas, in the first century.