June 14, 2011 - BiblePlaces.com

Lab Test Results on Metal Codices

Preliminary test results are back on the date of the allegedly early Christian metal codices. From the Jordan Times:

Preliminary lab results indicate that a collection of metal books unearthed in northern Jordan may indeed represent the earliest Christian texts ever discovered, according to experts.
According to the Department of Antiquities (DoA), initial carbon tests to determine the authenticity of lead-sealed metal books billed as the greatest find in biblical archaeology since the Dead Sea scrolls have been “encouraging”.
“We really believe that we have evidence from this analysis to prove that these materials are authentic,” DoA Director Ziad Saad told The Jordan Times.
The tests, carried out at the Royal Scientific Society labs, indicate that the texts may date back to the early first century AD, at a time when Christians took refuge from persecution on the east bank of the Jordan River.

The story continues here.

This is surely not the last word. For background on the subject, see the posts labeled “Pseudo-Archaeology.” Paleojudaica has a good summary of the case against authenticity.

UPDATE (6/15): Jim Davila takes apart this article piece by piece. The conclusion: “The fake metal codices are still fake.”

Tagged Pseudo-Archaeology

River Discovered Beneath Jerusalem

From Jerusalem Post:

Excavators digging for a new railway station deep under the surface of central Jerusalem have discovered what geologists say is the largest underground river ever found in Israel. And while its deep canyons and waterfalls may be an impressive find for scientists, it doesn’t contain a significant amount of the precious fluids to affect the water balance in this traditionally parched city. “We found a nice but small underground river,” Professor Amos Frumkin, head of the Cave Research Unit of the Hebrew University’s Department of Geography, told The Media Line.
“In terms of Israel, it’s the longest underground stream that we have ever seen. It is a kind of a canyon that has been cut by the stream of the water over a long period of time, maybe millions of years,” Frumkin said. Frumkin and his team were called upon by Israel Railways after its engineers chanced upon the cave while excavating an 80-meter (260-foot) shaft close to the city’s main convention center and central bus station that is being drilled for a huge, underground station that will serve the high-speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv railway.

The story continues here. Leen Ritmeyer noted the Haaretz article of this discovery last week.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem