ISIS invaded Manbij in 2014. During this time, Abdulwahab Sheko, head of the Exploration Committee at the Ruins Council in Manbij, was studying the area. In an interview with Fox News, Sheko noted that the site was lucky to have escaped the group's attention. He kept quiet about the ruins until 2016, when ISIS was driven out by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

During their two-year occupation of the area, ISIS forces failed to notice the tip of an old gate on an empty mound of land where they dumped garbage. But Sheko explained that the gate, which ran several feet into the ground down, leads straight to the old Christian ruins. (Image: Fox News Video screengrab/via Faithwire)

"I was so excited, I can't describe it. I was holding everything in my hands," Sheko said of the discovery.

Several crosses etched into columns and walls, and writings carved into stone indicate that the underground ruin was a special place where persecuted Christians under the Roman Empire congregated.

"This place is so special. Here is where I think the security guard would stand at the gate watching for any movement outside," Sheko explained as he led reporters through the "first location" of the site. "He could warn the others to exit through the other passage if they needed to flee." (Image: Fox News Video screengrab/via Faithwire)

American archaeologist John Wineland told Fox that the discovery of this "secret church" could be crucial to understanding the lives of Christians under Roman rule...

Click here to continue reading, and scroll down after clicking to watch the Fox News video tour of the archaeological dig.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

A 'Big Ben Moment' for America: An Important Call to Prayer from Give Him 15

Faith in Action: Fighting Back Against Explicit Sex Education

Elon Musk Helps Doctor Fighting against Trans Lawfare

Flurry of Radical Leftist Bills Put Forth by Unleashed Virginia Democrats

JD Vance Was Absolutely Brilliant in Minnesota [Video]

Is This Why Lemon Wasn't Charged? Wife of Judge Who Shut Down Charges against Don Lemon Is an Assistant AG to Keith Ellison: Report

Convicted Minnesota Fraudster Alleges Walz, Ellison Were Aware of Widespread Fraud: 'Need to Be Held Accountable'

Iranian People, and Syrians Asking for Prayer: US Mobilizes as Iran Crackdown Intensifies; Reports Cite Hospital Killings

Trump Admin Ends Funding for Research Using Aborted Baby Tissue

Barron Trump Reportedly Saved a Woman's life after Witnessing Violent Assault on FaceTime Call

MAGA Baby Boom? Usha Vance Baby News Takes the Internet by Storm

HHS Deputy Secretary Shocked to Hear About 'Horrors' of Euthanasia Organ Donation in Canada

FCC Puts Liberal Talk Shows on Notice That It'll Enforce Candidate Guest-Equity Requirement

The President Trump at Davos That the Left Didn't Want You to See

Here Are the Details of President Trump's Greenland Deal

In Davos, Trump Hails Gaza Peace Board, Warns Hamas to Disarm or 'Be Blown Away'

First Arrests Made Following St. Paul Anti-ICE Church Attack, 'More to Come'

Survey Shows Record American Support for Public Faith Sharing

Atheist Filmmaker Abandons Unbelief for Jesus [Video]

Truce Halts Syria Fighting; Netanyahu to Join Gaza Board of Peace Despite Israeli Misgivings