Anyone taking odds on whether that is the real crown of thorns worn by Christ?
I know there were quite a few “real crosses”, etc.that came forward in the Middle Ages.
You know wrong.
Some friends of mine were having that same discussion......
And did it all add up?
Yes, to much less than what he had estimated would have been the weight and dimensions of a cross big enough to crucify a man in late Roman antiquity.
You can read about it here from several sources (LINK)
Probable explanations: (1) probably Jesus carried only the crossbeam, not the upright post --- if what the 4th century excavators had found was only the crossbeam; and/or (2)many pieces were in private possession,vandalized, lost, destroyed, or otherwise unaccounted for.
From the point of view of research and documentation about the chain of custody of these fragments, it's pretty interesting.
Empress Helena had been given full access to the treasury of her son Constantine to fund investigations and excavations in the Holy Land. The wonder of it is that there were so very few chunks, bones, rags and fragments of things being proffered as true relics, if there was, a some might imagine, possible monetary reward for it.
The upshot is that some of the locals knew very well where the real stuff was, because during the years when the faith was being interdicted by the Emperors and its Scriptures, gravesites and shrines destroyed, right up through the Persecution of Diocletian --- they had hidden them well.
They would not expose them under threat, or for money. Only that proper religious honor might be given.
When a church has a relic of the True Cross it is a tiny sliver. All the slivers in Europe do not make a whole beam of the Cross. It is recorded history that St Helena, Constantine's mother, brought it back from the Holy Land circa 330AD.