been baptized in these waters"; however, the Jordanian, eastern side of the traditional baptism area of Al-Maghtas has been accepted by various Christian denominations as the authentic site of the baptism of Jesus. ICOMOS in its consideration of "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" as a UNESCO World Heritage Site notes that sites historically associated with Jesus' baptism also exist on the west bank across the river as well and puts forth that their investigation into the Al-Maghtas site for recognition as a World Heritage Center does not prove without doubt that the archaeological structures there actually relate historically to Jesus' baptism and further notes that other sites along the Jordan River have historically made similar claims. The Baptism Site's official website shows 13 authentication testimonials from representatives of major international denominations. History and archaeology Pre-Roman settlement The archaeological excavations have unearthed antiquities which attest to the conclusion that this site was first settled by a small group of agriculturists during the Chalcolithic period, around 3,500 BC. There are again signs of settlement from the Hellenistic period. Roman and Byzantine periods The site contains buildings with both aspects of a Jewish mikveh (ritual bath) resembling Second Temple period pools from Qumran, and later of Christian use, with large pools for baptism, linking both customs. Possibly in the 2nd-3rd and certainly starting with the 5th-6th centuries, Christian religious structures were built at Tell al-Kharrar. It must be remembered that in the 1st-4th centuries of the Christian Era, Christianity was often persecuted by the Roman state, and only after it became first tolerated and then outright the state religion of the Roman, or now so-called Byzantine Empire, open Christian worship became possible. Archaeological excavations also established that the hill of Tell al-Kharrar, known as Elijah's Hill, was venerated as the spot from which Prophet Elijah ascended to heaven. In the 5th century, in commemoration, a Byzantine monastery was erected here. The archaeologists have named it the "Monastery of Rhetorios" after a name from a Byzantine mosaic inscription. The Byzantine emperor Anastasius I Dicorus erected between 491 and 518 a first church dedicated to John the Baptist on the eastern banks of the River Jordan. However, due to two flood and earthquake events the church was destroyed. The church was reconstructed three times, until it crumbled, together with the chapel built over piers, during a major flood event in the 6th or 7th century. The