Jesus’ burial site found - film claims

http://www.ynetnews.com ^ | 2/23/07 | Ariella Ringel-Hoffman

[Rb ver. 2.0]

The cave in which Jesus Christ was buried has been found in Jerusalem, claim the makers of a new documentary film.

If it proves true, the discovery, which will be revealed at a press conference in New York Monday, could shake up the Christian world as one of the most significant archeological finds in history.

The coffins which, according to the filmmakers held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene will be displayed for the first time on Monday in New York.

Jointly produced by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and Oscar winning director James Cameron, the film tells the exciting and tortuous story of the archaeological discovery.

The story starts in 1980 in Jerusalem’s Talpiyot neighborhood, with the discovery of a 2,000 year old cave containing ten coffins. Six of the ten coffins were carved with inscriptions reading the names: Jesua son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Matthew, Jofa (Joseph, identified as Jesus’ brother), Judah son of Jesua (Jesus’ son - the filmmakers claim).

Decades of research

The findings in the cave, including the decipherment of the inscriptions, were first revealed about ten years ago by internationally renowned Israeli archeologist Professor Amos Kloner.

Since their discovery, the caskets were kept in the Israeli Antiquities Authority archive in Beit Shemesh, but now two have been sent to New York for their first public exhibition.

Although the cave was discovered nearly 30 years ago and the casket inscriptions decoded ten years ago, the filmmakers are the first to establish that the cave was in fact the burial site of Jesus and his family.

The film, which documents the stages of the discovery, is the result of three years labor and research. It will be broadcast on the international Discovery Channel, Britain's Channel 4, Canada’s Vision and Israel’s Channel 8, which also took part in the film's production.

According to the filmmakers, the film’s claim is based on close work with world-famous scientists, archeologists, statisticians, DNA specialists and antiquities experts.

[Vicomte13]

Atmosphere, glass windows, water...

Anyway, the who discussion began over someone's tagline post (don't remember who, or I'd ping him) of the speed of light as not just being a good idea, it's the LAW!

To which I retorted that it's a changing law depending on where you are observing the light.

The really interesting thing about light is its energyless acceleration after it passes out of a slowing medium.

[lastchance]

To answer both your posts. The biblical account is that soldiers guarded the tomb of Christ. But no matter who guarded it they had everything to lose if they permitted the theft of Jesus' bones.

Re: the bones of Buddha and mummies. Even cremation will not burn away all bone matter. Especially cremation not done in a commercial crematory. The cremains will contain bits of bone and of course there will be ash. So evidence of a body does remain. Also cremation was not a custom for body disposal in the ancient Middle East.

PS. I love the Mark Twain quote. Thanks for the laugh.

[flatfoot121]

Why do so many people doubt that these are the bones of 'JESUS'? Most claim that their loved ones fly off to heaven at death and all the while the body is still in the casket!This concept of going to heaven is not taught in the bible but most people believe it! People feel that this would bring about the destruction of Christianity, why? Yahshua (Jesus) did not start a new religion (christianity)! It was started by the so called mother church which was THE RCC.
Yahshua was a Jew and he was living his life by the Laws of Yahweh not the RCC!

[Sue Perkick]

[Question_Assumptions]

Having watched a variety of his programs (including the one on Exodus, his one on the Lost Tribes, and The Naked Archaeologist), I think Simcha Jacobovici is an interesting character who is willing to go out on a limb to interpret Minoan artwork as depicting the Ark of the Covenant and insisting on the literal truth of the Old Testament, yet he suddently finds his skeptics hat whenever he deals with anything Christian or in the New Testament. Given that he's a Jew, I don't find it surprising that he's skeptical of New Testament claims but he's clearly applying two different standards of evidence to the Old Testament (which he assume is literally true until proven otherwise) and the New Testament (for which he is willing to entertain even the most far-fetched theories that it's wrong). To put it perhaps more charitably than he deserves, I see a very definite pro-Judaism and anti-Christian bias and agenda in his work. And the more of his stuff that I watch, the more annoying his double-standard becomes.

[brwnsuga]

2,000 year old cave containing ten coffins. Six of the ten coffins were carved with inscriptions reading the names: Jesua son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Matthew, Jofa (Joseph, identified as Jesus’ brother), Judah son of Jesua (Jesus’ son - the filmmakers claim).

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought in Jewish tradition at that time, they didn't have coffins. I read that they leave the body wrapped but exposed for about a year, then they retrieve the bones and put them in small boxes.

[donmeaker]

My favorite method of disposal of bodies is that of the Zoroasterians.

Their towers of silence exposed the bodies to carrion eating birds. Thus they would not contaminate any of the "four elements": Air,fire, earth or water.

My point was that the absence of a body does not prove presence of G-d.

[lastchance]

I was only pointing at that it is actually vey difficult to get rid of all evidence of a body's existence.

The putting out the body for carrion birds could get popular again. Especially for hit and runs, I mean it works for racoon roadkill why not for Uncle Harvey?
Plus the practice is much cheaper than your average funeral. Less stress on the family too. Carrion birds do not demand a check in advance and they never foul up the eulogy.

[NavyCanDo]

You have to look at the timing of this TV documentary – right before the Easter season when Christians celebrate the resurrection.
This is just another attempt by Hollywood to try to justify their own immorality by convincing them selves that God is dead, that we have no higher authority to answer too.

Cameron has nothing but bone boxes with inscribed names. Common names. Ancient bone boxes are so common in Israel they are used as planter boxes.

[SunkenCiv]

thanks go to GoLightly and xcamel for compiling the list (thus far) of such topics:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1789769/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1789966/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1790456/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1790579/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1790608/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1790818/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1790884/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1790953/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791244/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1791251/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791352/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791365/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791383/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791513/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791544/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791583/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791588/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791610/posts

[highlander_UW]

This is so obviously an attempt to make some money and be controversial it's silly.

I do look forward to his next film that will denounce Muhammad as a pedophile, demon possessed thug. /s

[Constitution Day]

This is a thorough and well-reasoned smackdown of the supposed "Jesus tomb", so I thought I'd pass it along.

It's from a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

---

Archaeological Institute of America News:
Has the Tomb of Jesus Been Discovered?
A reasoned look at the evidence, instead of a media circus, yields an answer of NO!

by Jodi Magness

Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received a Ph.D. in classical archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Archaeology and History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has participated on more than 20 excavations in Israel and Greece, and currently directs excavations in the Roman fort at Yotvata, Israel. Her publications include an award-winning book on The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Eerdmans 2002) and an article entitled "Ossuaries and the Burials of Jesus and James," Journal of Biblical Literature 124 (2005).