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Filmmakers Find Jesus' Tomb and Body

I hate these kind of stories, because everyone with any training in archaeology related to the Bible can see it’s a fraud from a mile away, but everyone else takes it so seriously.

The first thing to note in this “discovery” is that it was made by a filmmaker and a Hollywood director. That should make you suspicious. Why archaeologists and other scholars didn’t have any inkling of this until it was revealed by movie-makers should smell more like Indiana Jones than serious scholarship. Of course, it is altogether possible that these amateurs did make the greatest discovery ever in biblical archaeology. If so, it will be recognized as authentic by those who are experts in the field. If not, the filmmakers can pour millions of dollars into creating a “documentary” that ignores the scholars and appeals directly to the (largely ignorant) public.

The previous work of these two filmmakers is not irrelevant to this story; this is not their first foray into biblical archaeology. Their recent “The Exodus Decoded” reveals their methodology: partial presentation of evidence combined with twisted interpretation and a complete lack of scholarly support. Add $3 million for amazing special effects and eye candy. Simply put, no one with any knowledge of the field (secular, religious, liberal, conservative) buys what they were selling. For a 14-part review, see Chris Heard’s blog.

The filmmakers don’t want to reveal specifics of their discovery of Jesus’ tomb, but they have leaked enough details to get excitement up for their Monday press conference. So detailed analysis will have to wait (and if anyone else is doing it, I’m going to save time and simply link to them), but for now, here’s some that you won’t hear at the press conference or in the multi-million-dollar made-for-TV movie, from the the Jerusalem Post.

But Bar-Ilan University Prof. Amos Kloner, the Jerusalem District archeologist who officially oversaw the work at the tomb in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents, on Saturday night dismissed the claims. “It makes a great story for a TV film,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “But it’s impossible. It’s nonsense.”
Kloner, who said he was interviewed for the new film but has not seen it, said the names found on the ossuaries were common, and the fact that such apparently resonant names had been found together was of no significance. He added that “Jesus son of Joseph” inscriptions had been found on several other ossuaries over the years.
“There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb,” Kloner said. “They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the 1st century CE.”

This scholar is not a Christian and is not motivated to protect religous beliefs of Christians. He is an expert on burials from the time of Christ.

In short, this “discovery” has nothing to do with facts and everything to do with financial gain. You can make a lot of money and gain a lot of notoriety by creating the most sensational of discoveries. It would all be so much better if journalists would call up a few experts, determine that the story is rubbish, and then publish nothing about it. Unfortunately, journalists are complicit in perpetuating the fraud, because sensational stories like this are good for their ratings.

Tagged Tomb of Jesus

Palace of David: 2006-07 Findings

Aren Maeir has posted a short report from his visit to Eilat Mazar’s excavation in the City of David.

Mazar just concluded a six-month season and has uncovered more of the monumental building that she believes may be identified with the palace of David. Maeir says:

The structure is in fact very impressive, and it appears, based on the finds from below this astounding structure, that it was built no later than the late Iron Age I, since no later finds were found in the fills below this structure. Also, in one area, Iron Age IIA pottery was found in a context of secondary construction and use of the building. What this clearly means is that in the verly late Iron Age I, or the very early Iron Age IIA (whether you date this to late 11th/early 10th, or late 10th), there were substantial public architectural activities in Jerusalem.

Read the whole post and the comments, especially the one by Zachi Zweig. This is the sort of stuff that newspapers should be covering, not the silly nonsense so often featured. Mazar’s findings may radically affect our understanding of Jerusalem in ancient times, and that’s without regard to whether she has found David’s palace or not.

Elsewhere, Ronny Reich told a group of us today about some 200 bullae, a beautiful carved pomegranate, and a huge quantity of fishbones that have been discovered in the City of David in the last couple of years. These are significant because they date to the 9th century B.C. and have Phoenician elements. Reich suggests that these may be related to influence from the northern kingdom via Queen Athaliah. An article is due out on this in Qadmoniot (Hebrew) in the near future, with an English translation to follow in another journal.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Dr. Leen Ritmeyer's Blog

One of my favorite scholars on matters related to biblical archaeology is Leen Ritmeyer. I am impressed not only by his scholarship but by his gracious and humble spirit. As architect for the Jerusalem excavations of Benjamin Mazar and Nahman Avigad, Ritmeyer has sketched many of the reconstruction drawings that you see in books and on posters. He’s done significant work on sites outside of Jerusalem as well. I am happy to recommend his work whenever I get the chance. His latest work is his magnum opus, The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. I’ve been recommending it to students for years, though it only was published last year.

Ritmeyer now has a blog in which he intends to address matters related to the Temple Mount and biblical archaeology. His first post is a brief response to the new theory by Joseph Patrich which locates the temple facing the southeast on the basis of a cistern. Ritmeyer’s blog is welcome and recommended!

Tagged Jerusalem

Logos Software: Near East Archaeology Collection

A representative of Logos Research Systems has contacted me with a note about their Pre-Publication offer for the Near East Archaeology Collection (3 volumes). The retail price for the set is $430, but they are offering it now for $100. The three volumes are:

Studies in the Archaeology of the Iron Age in Israel and Jordan, edited by Amihai Mazar (2001).

Urbanism in the Aegean Bronze Age, by Keith Branigan (2002).

Excavations by Kathleen M. Kenyon in Jerusalem 1961-1967, Volume III:
The Settlement in the Bronze and Iron Ages, by Margreet Steiner (2001).

I was initially reluctant to mention it here because I feel that these are not foundational archaeological works, which most of this blog’s readers probably would be better suited for. In fact, these books are all quite advanced and I would only recommend them for the scholar, graduate student, or a real nerdy armchair archaeologist. For me personally, the first volume is the most valuable. This alone is $150 new at Amazon. Logos software, of course, offers significant advantages for an electronic edition.

As a Pre-Pub offer, customers get the lowest possible price, as the price goes up once enough orders are received. If enough orders aren’t placed, the books are never produced.

I’d love to see Logos offer in the future some more foundational archaeological works, such as:

Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible

Stern, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, vol 2

Ben-Tor, ed., Archaeology of Ancient Israel

Hoerth, Archaeology and the OT

McRay, Archaeology and the NT

And I would get real excited if they could get the archaeological encyclopedia sets:

The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, 4 volumes

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, 5 volumes

I fear that most/all of these will never happen because publishers tend to be difficult to work with. It
seems to me that publishing an electronic edition several years after the initial publication is a win-
win situation.

Tagged Resources

Various Thoughts on Jerusalem Ramp and More

So much is going on in Jerusalem these days with protests over excavations that I’m not even trying to keep up with it on this blog. Paleojudaica stays right on top of it with his “Temple Mount Watch” so that’s the place to go for twice-daily doses. Instead, I offer a few brief comments.

The Washington Post on Sunday had a pretty balanced article concerning Jewish construction in the Old City. Of course, there are things I think could have been said better, but overall it’s a helpful read on a controversial subject (which is going to get even more heated in months/years to come, I predict).

Today’s Jerusalem Post has an article on “finds” already from the Temple Mount ramp excavation.

There’s no real content to the article; mostly it is what they expect to find, which is pretty obvious to anyone who knows about the excavations to the south. I think the article is an archaeologist’s attempt to try to stem the increasing tide of those calling for the excavation to stop. BTW, they’ve been digging for about a week and have already dug down three meters? That makes me wonder if R. A. S. Macalister is in charge of this project.

The reason why the excavation should not be stopped: it gives Muslims de facto sovereignty over the Western Wall area.

Some articles are quoting Meir Ben Dov as a Jerusalem archaeologist claiming the excavation is unnecessary and provocative. In the newspaper to those not familiar with Jerusalem politics, Ben Dov could be any average scholar. In fact, he is widely scorned by those in his profession. He’s the one archaeologist the journalists can find to give them an “alternate viewpoint.”

Would you rather learn something useful about Jerusalem instead of spending lots of time on endless controversies which will all pass? Here are three great books about archaeology around the Temple Mount:

Leen Ritmeyer, The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Very new, very good. $60, and worth it.

Eilat Mazar, The Complete Guide to the Temple Mount Excavations. (Out of print; used ones here).

Ronny Reich, Jerusalem Archaeological Park. (1 at Eisenbrauns; used ones here.)

The best book on Jerusalem overall is still Hershel Shanks, Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography. Twelve years old, but most is still accurate and you can’t beat the illustrations.

Elsewhere, I am working on a phenomenal collection of old materials on the Temple Mount and Jerusalem by early explorers in the 1800s. I hope to have that available later this year.

Tagged Jerusalem

Why the Muslims are Mad

I’ve been thinking about how to respond to the latest Palestinian violence against Israel because of the ramp removal near the Western Wall. A BBC article does a good job of explaining things and so I’m going to save some time and quote from it. The first half of the article details the history of the Temple Mount. I have highlighted some key statements.

The blue lines mark the limits of the Temple Mount, which is controlled by the Muslim religious authority. One of the gates providing access to the Temple Mount is the Mughrabi Gate, and it is the earthen ramp leading to this gate which is the basis for claims that the Israelis are undermining Al Aqsa Mosque. Any viewer can see, however, that the ramp is outside of the Temple Mount, has no bearing on the structure of the Temple Mount, and is immediately adjacent to the Jewish prayer area of the Western Wall.

Picking up the BBC story from 1967:

Israel allowed the Muslim religious authority known as the Waqf to administer the whole compound. But the Israelis claimed the right to enter it at will to keep security control. They enforce this claim regularly.
They do so by entering the compound through a small gate known as the Mougrabi or Moors’ Gate.
It is this gate that is at the centre of the current controversy.
Because the gate is high up in the wall (it overlooks the Western Wall,) it has to be reached by either an earth mound or a walkway.
Last year [actually three years ago], the earth mound collapsed after a rainfall [actually a snowfall]. So a temporary wooden structure was put up. The current work is designed to replace this with something stronger and more permanent.
This entails removing the remains of the earth mound down to bedrock in order that there can be secure foundations for the new walkway or bridge.
An independent observer, Father Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, from the French institute the Ecole Biblique in East Jerusalem, said that the work was “completely routine”.
“This work is not inside the Haram. It is outside, leading to the Moors’ Gate. The earth ramp fell down and has to be replaced,” Father Murphy-O’Connor, author of an Oxford University guide “The Holy Land”, told me.
“I do not know why the Palestinians have chosen to make an issue out of this. It is a recognised Jewish area under the arrangements that prevail in the Old City.
“One can contrast this to the extensive excavations just round the corner in a Muslim area where huge pilgrim hostels from the 8th Century were revealed, with no protest. There has also been no protest over digs at the City of David nearby.
“There is absolutely no danger to the foundations of the al-Aqsa mosque since that is built on the huge Herodian blocks that are still there.”
The reason for the protest does not really have much to do with archaeology in fact. It is a protest about presence. The Palestinians and the wider Muslim world have an objection to anything the Israelis do that touches on the Haram.
Such work is seen as symbolising a threat to Palestinian and Muslim identity and a rallying point for Palestinians to express their desire for their own space, their own state.
In this atmosphere, the arguments of the archaeological academics do not carry much force.
The Moors’ Gate is perhaps even more sensitive than other sites, as it is the only gate to the compound for which the Israelis hold the key. They do so, Father Murphy-O’Connor said, under an agreement reached in 1967 between General Moshe Dayan and the Waqf.
In 1996, the Israelis tunnelled further along the Western Wall, prompting riots and unrest. Again, the issue was not so much the actual dig as the concept.

There’s a little more, including a nice diagram at the bottom of the article that shows the relation of the ramp to the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque. The Jerusalem Post has an article explaining the “Intimidation Tactics” at work.

HT: Paleojudaica

Tagged Jerusalem