"What became of the head of the Precursor is difficult to determine. Nicephorus (I, ix) and Metahrastes say Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus; others insist that it was interred in Herod's palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine, and thence secretly taken to Emesa, in Phoenicia, where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 453. In the many and discordant relations concerning this relic, unfortunately much uncertainty prevails; their discrepancies in almost every point render the problem so intricate as to baffle solution. This signal relic, in whole or in part, is claimed by several churches, among them Amiens, Nemours, St-Jean d'Angeli (France), S. Silvestro in Capite (Rome). This fact Tillemont traces to a mistaking of one St. John for another, an explanation which, in certain cases, appears to be founded on good grounds and accounts well for this otherwise puzzling multiplication of relics."
Hmmmm....this probably accounts well for this otherwise puzzling multiplication of relics! Maybe he just had a lot of heads? Did they ever think of that? Well, if they ever need it as a "scholarly" explanation they will be quite capable of twisting out 20 or 30 pages of tripe to justify that he did indeed have a number of heads! The way they hem and haw their way around contradictions and fiction is quite as amazing as it is revolting.
The problem is an intricate one. So intricate that it almost (but not quite) baffles solution. :-)
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