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The Saker Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Public InquiryInterested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
Voltaire NetworkVoltaire, international edition
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Scholars claim ancient box provides archaeological proof of Jesus' life national |
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news report
 Friday October 25, 2002 21:38 by Shelnigy
 An ancient limestone burial box recently discovered in Jerusalem bears the Aramaic inscription: "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." Respected archaeological experts say the discovery of the box with the apparent reference to the biblical Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most significant finds of the century, while many others are skeptical regarding its authenticity. "What we want to announce today is the first archaeological attestation of Jesus," announced Herschel Shanks, the Jewish publisher of respected Biblical Archaeology Review. "This is a startling, mind-boggling inscription," he said. The burial box featured in the latest issue of the bimonthly magazine is called an ossuary. Jews who lived in the time of Jesus collected bones from burial caves and transferred them to these boxes. The use of ossuaries was discontinued following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The boxes often bore inscriptions. Although Biblical scholars and historians believe that Jesus lived in the Holy Land during the first century, the ossuary would be the first physical evidence of his life. "The James ossuary may be the most important find in the history of New Testament archaeology," Shanks said. "It has implications not just for scholarship, but for the world's understanding of the Bible." Previous comparable finds include the 1990 discovery of an ossuary reportedly belonging to Caiaphas, the high priest believed to have turned Jesus over to the Romans, and an inscription on a monument mentioning Pontius Pilate. Scientific tests date ossuary to approximately 63 CE Lemaire said that only two out of hundreds of ossuaries inscribed in Aramaic mention the name of the brother of the deceased, inferring that the brother's name was included only when he was an important figure. Although James, Joseph and Jesus were common names in Jerusalem at the time, Lemaire estimates that the odds are very slim that the combination of all three names occurred in one family. It is not likely that there was another James with a brother named Jesus who was so prominent that it would warrant adding his name to his ossuary, he said. If the ossuary did indeed contain the bones of James, traditionally considered a leader of the first Jerusalem church, it would prove that early Christians practiced Jewish burial customs and spoke in Aramaic. The discovery of Jesus' brother would conflict with Catholic tradition which claims that Jesus was Mary's only child. Skeptical scholars not convinced Kyle McCarter, an archaeologist at Johns Hopkins University, said that the box was probably authentic, but added he still had his doubts. "We may never be absolutely certain. In the work I do we're rarely absolutely certain about anything," he said, adding that many of his peers were not happy with the decision to publicize the finding at such an early stage of verifying its authenticity. Shanks discovered the burial box when it was already in the possession of a private collector in Israel. Therefore, its exact origins are difficult to trace. "This appeared on the antiquities market; it was not excavated by professional archaeologists," he said. Shanks's theory is that the box was originally found in the Jerusalem area, where an Arab trader probably sold it to a Jewish collector for "a few hundred dollars." The current owner realized the importance of the ossuary only after Lemaire translated the Aramaic inscription last year. Shanks said the owner "didn't realize the significance" of his possession. Shanks is planning to exhibit the ossuary in an upcoming meeting of some 8,000 Bible and religion scholars at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. |
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Comments (3 of 3)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3but it's still largely undiscovered - thank Christ!
Careful readers will recall in the last months John Hopkinīs University research on Ecstasy use was published alledging a link between Ecstasy use and Parkinsonīs.
Despite the death of 20% of the unsuitable animal subjects due to overheating.
This research was thus well funded rubbish, misleading and untrustowrthy.
This week John Hopkinīs University returns to "validate" an ossuary with a short line of aramaic as being that belonging to James Brother of Jesus son of Joseph from approx the seventh decade of the current historical dating system.
Hmmmm.
The international archeo-linguistic community are interested in this ossuary, yes, but estimates so far suggest that in that period there may have been upwards of thirty such "families". (These names were pretty common even then).
The fact that the ossuary is not part of a collection and thus can-not be "traced" is also causing problems with deciding its authenticity-
it can not be carbon dated, its stone.
The three major Christian groupings each hold different beliefs concerning the status of James and Joseph.
Roman Catholic believers hold that James was merely a cllose relative.
Others maintain that he was a "brother" by "mary" known in aramaic as "miriam".
Yet others maintain that "james" was a stepbrother by "Joseph" to "jesus".
John Hopkinīs university enjoys a reputation for deftly altering history and core belief patterns for many perhaps to serve future political purposes.