Biblical skeptics have spent decades trying to discredit Scripture.
But one archaeologist just uncovered something they can't explain away.
And this discovery about Jesus' first miracle left experts utterly stunned.
For nearly 400 years, millions of Christian pilgrims made the trek to Kafr Kanna in Israel to commemorate the spot where Jesus performed his first miracle.
The Gospel of John describes how Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast in the village of Cana.
Scripture records that Jesus instructed servants to fill six stone jars with water before transforming it into fine wine.¹
Kafr Kanna became the accepted site after the Catholic Church designated it in the 17th century.
The Wedding Church there draws thousands of visitors every year.
But historian Tom McCollough spent decades excavating a different site.
And what he found five miles north blows up centuries of tradition.
Archaeologist uncovers 1,500-year-old Christian worship complex
McCollough taught religion and history at Centre College until his retirement in 2017.
He's been leading excavations at Khirbet Qana since taking over from Professor Douglas Edwards in 1998.
The site was a thriving Jewish village from 323 B.C. to 324 A.D. – exactly the time period when Jesus walked the earth.
McCollough's team uncovered an elaborate network of underground caves used by early Christians as worship sites.
The caves contain crosses, inscriptions reading "Kyrie Iesou" (Lord Jesus), and pilgrim graffiti dating back over 1,500 years.²
"We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle," McCollough explained.³
Inside one chamber, archaeologists discovered an altar fashioned from an overturned stone coffin lid.
Above it sat a shelf holding two large stone jars with space for four more.
The biblical account specifically mentions six stone jars used in the miracle.
"Six stone jars could hold the water that Jesus turned into wine," McCollough said. "All this points to the fact that Khirbet Qana was considered the Cana of the New Testament from a very early period."⁴
The pilgrim complex remained in continuous use from the fifth or sixth century all the way through the Crusader period in the 12th century.
Physical evidence backs up biblical account
The archaeological findings at Khirbet Qana do more than just identify a location.
They confirm the historical accuracy of John's Gospel account in multiple ways.
Excavators found evidence of a Beit Midrash – a Jewish house of study from the Roman period.
They also uncovered coins from the Maccabean revolt and other artifacts proving this was an active Jewish community during Jesus' lifetime.
The stone jars discovered at the site match the biblical description perfectly.
Each could hold between 20 and 30 gallons of water.⁵
They were used for Jewish ceremonial washing, exactly as Scripture records.
Unlike clay vessels, stone jars were considered ritually pure under Jewish law.
First-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentioned Cana in his writings.
His geographical references align precisely with Khirbet Qana's location.⁶
McCollough noted how ancient pilgrim texts describing visits to Cana match what his team exposed at Khirbet Qana.
"The pilgrim texts we have from this period that describe what pilgrims did and saw when they came to Cana of Galilee match very closely what we have exposed as the veneration complex," McCollough stated.⁷
Traditional site exposes centuries of convenient lies
The findings at Khirbet Qana blow up the traditional Kafr Kanna narrative completely.
Archaeologists have found zero evidence of a Roman-era Jewish settlement beneath Kafr Kanna.⁸
Zero.
Not a single artifact proving Jews lived there when Jesus walked the earth.
That's not just a problem for its claim as biblical Cana – it's a death sentence.
The Gospel account clearly describes the miracle happening in a Jewish village during Jesus' ministry.
If no Jewish settlement existed there during that period, the site can't be authentic.
Kafr Kanna wasn’t even a pilgrimage destination until the 1700s.
"At this point, the Franciscans were managing Christian pilgrimage and facilitating easy passage rather than historical accuracy," McCollough explained.⁹
The Franciscans started acquiring land there in 1641 but didn't complete the process until 1879.
The beautiful Wedding Church facade visitors see today wasn't built until 1906.
Kafr Kanna's popularity likely came from its convenient location along the main road from Sepphoris to Tiberias.
Easy access for pilgrims trumped historical accuracy.
Meanwhile, early Christians were venerating Khirbet Qana as the miracle site centuries before anyone paid attention to Kafr Kanna.
Skeptics can't explain away the mounting evidence
Look at the pattern here.
Pool of Siloam where Jesus healed the blind man? Found it – right where John's Gospel said it was.
King David's empire that academics claimed was mythical folklore? The Tel Dan inscription proved them dead wrong in 1993.
Hezekiah's officials that supposedly never existed? Archaeologists just found a 2,700-year-old seal with their names on it.
Biblical battles at Megiddo? Physical evidence confirms the accounts.
Ancient gardens at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? Exactly as Scripture described.
Every single time skeptics declare the Bible invented something, archaeologists dig up proof they're wrong.
And now Cana.
Early Christians venerated the correct site for 1,500 years while modern academics pushed a convenient lie because it had better road access.
Think about that.
Ancient pilgrims traveling by foot knew the real location while 20th-century scholars with advanced technology got it wrong because they prioritized tour bus routes over truth.
McCollough's excavations don't just validate one miracle – they expose how willing academics are to accept comfortable falsehoods over inconvenient evidence.
"Our excavations have shown that this was in fact a thriving Jewish village located in the heart of much of Jesus' life and ministry," McCollough said.¹⁰
He added that the findings "warrant at least a reconsideration of the historical value of John's references to Cana and Jesus."¹¹
That's academic speak for "the skeptics got it wrong."
The Gospel of John describes Cana as a safe haven where Jesus and his disciples regrouped.
"For the Gospel of John, Cana [was] in some ways Jesus' safe place or operational center," McCollough explained. "It is a place he and his disciples return to when they encounter resistance in Judea."¹²
That matches perfectly with Khirbet Qana's location and layout.
"[No other village] has the ensemble of evidence that makes such a persuasive case for Khirbet Qana," McCollough concluded.¹³
Biblical skeptics spent decades claiming the miracle stories couldn't be verified.
Now they're forced to explain how early Christians managed to identify and venerate the correct site for 1,500 years.
The physical evidence, historical texts, and archaeological findings all point to one conclusion.
The Bible got it right all along.
¹ Fox News, "Historian uncovers location of Jesus' first miracle with 1,500-year-old evidence," June 29, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Greek Reporter, "Archaeologists Claim Discovery of Exact Site Where Jesus Performed His First Miracle," May 26, 2025.
⁵ Fox News, "Historian uncovers location of Jesus' first miracle with 1,500-year-old evidence," June 29, 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Archaeology News Online Magazine, "Khirbet Qana may be site of Jesus's first miracle, researchers say," June 5, 2025.
⁹ Patterns of Evidence, "Evidence for Cana, the Site of Jesus' Water-to-Wine Miracle," August 15, 2025.
¹⁰ Fox News, "Historian uncovers location of Jesus' first miracle with 1,500-year-old evidence," June 29, 2025.
¹¹ Archaeology News Online Magazine, "Khirbet Qana may be site of Jesus's first miracle, researchers say," June 5, 2025.
¹² Fox News, "Historian uncovers location of Jesus' first miracle with 1,500-year-old evidence," June 29, 2025.
¹³ Ibid.