In 1980, in
East Talpiot,
Jerusalem, a bulldozer accidentally uncovered what may be the most explosive archaeological discovery of all time.
Of the ten ossuaries, or stone coffins, found inside the first-century tomb, six bore inscriptions: Jesus, son of Joseph; Maria; Mariamene (the name by which Mary Magdalene was known), Joseph, Matthew, and Judah, son of Jesus. At first dismissed by archaeologists as coincidence, the ossuaries were deposited in the endless warehouses of the Israel Antiquities Association and forgotten.
Twenty-five years later, a group of scientists, researchers, mathematicians, film maker and Emmy-winning journalist Simcha Jacobovici and his team, Felix Golubev, journalist and producer; Hollywood kingpin James Cameron; Paleo-biologist and best-selling author Charles Pellegrino; and renowned Biblical scholar James Tabor, took a fresh look at this astounding cluster of New Testament names.
They claim to have discovered the family tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem. Not only that but have produced a website, a book, and also a feature docuemtanry about the tomb. All will be revealed, we are told. on Monday 26th of February when the news will be announced via a press conference in New York. Granted unparalleled access, but battling a host of problems, the team goes in search of the ossuaries…and the lost tomb…
Feb. 25, 2007New scientific evidence, including DNA analysis conducted at one of the world's foremost molecular genetics laboratories, as well as studies by leading scholars, suggests a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem tomb could have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.
The findings also suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene might have produced a son named Judah.
The DNA findings, alongside statistical conclusions made about the artifacts — originally excavated in 1980 — open a potentially significant chapter in Biblical archaeological history.
A documentary presenting the evidence, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," will premiere on the Discovery Channel on March 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary comes from executive producer James Cameron and director Simcha Jacobovici. Discovery has set up a special Web site, www.discovery.com/tomb, to provide related in-depth information and to allow viewers to come to their own conclusions about the entire matter.
The Talpiot Tomb
On March 28, 1980, a construction crew developing an apartment complex in Talpiot, Jerusalem, uncovered a tomb, which archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority excavated shortly thereafter. Archaeologist Shimon Gibson surveyed the site and drew a layout plan. Scholar L.Y. Rahmani later published "A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries" that described 10 ossuaries, or limestone bone boxes, found in the tomb.
Scholars know that from 30 B.C. to 70 A.D., many people in Jerusalem would first wrap bodies in shrouds after death. The bodies were then placed in carved rock tombs, where they decomposed for a year before the bones were placed in an ossuary.
Five of the 10 discovered boxes in the Talpiot tomb were inscribed with names believed to be associated with key figures in the New Testament: Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Joseph and Mary Magdalene. A sixth inscription, written in Aramaic, translates to "Judah Son of Jesus."
"Such tombs are very typical for that region," Aaron Brody, associate professor of Bible and archaeology at the Pacific School of Religion and director of California's Bade Museum told Discovery News.
Ossuary Inscriptions
At least four leading epigraphers have corroborated the ossuary inscriptions for the documentary, according to the Discovery Channel.
Frank Moore Cross, a professor emeritus in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, told Discovery News, "The inscriptions are from the Herodian Period (which occurred from around 1 B.C. to 1 A.D.). The use of limestone ossuaries and the varied script styles are characteristic of that time."
Jodi Magness, associate department chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Discovery News that, based on the New Testament writings, "Jesus likely lived during the first century A.D."
The inscriptions on the ossuaries found in the Talpiot Tomb in 1980 by a bulldozer read as follows:
Ossuary 80/500: “Mariamene e Mara” – “Mariamne, also called Master”
Ossuary 80/501: “Yehuda bar Yeshua” – “Judah, son of Jesus”
Ossuary 80/502: “Matia” – “Matthew”
Ossuary 80/503 “Yeshua bar Yosef” – “Jesus, Son of Joseph”
Ossuary 80/504 “Yose” or “Yosa” – a nickname for “Joseph”
Ossuary 80/505: “Maria” – a Latinized version of the Hebrew “Miriam.”
Ossuaries 80/506-508 were plain, with no inscriptions. And no one knows anything really about Ossuary 80/509. It
disappeared before it could be checked for inscriptions or ornamentation.
Of the ten ossuaries pulled from the niches of the burial chamber, inscriptions were recorded as occurring on six, a very high ratio considering that only 20% of the thousands of ossuaries ever found bear such inscriptions.
In addition to the "Judah son of Jesus" inscription, which is written in Aramaic on one of the ossuaries, another limestone burial box is labeled in Aramaic with "Jesus Son of Joseph." Another bears the Hebrew inscription "Maria," a Latin version of "Miriam," or, in English, "Mary." Yet another ossuary inscription, written in Hebrew, reads "Matia," the original Hebrew word for "Matthew." Only one of the inscriptions is written in Greek. It reads, "Mariamene e Mara," which can be translated as, "Mary known as the master."
Francois Bovon, professor of the history of religion at Harvard University, told Discovery News, "Mariamene, or Mariamne, probably was the actual name given to Mary Magdalene."
Bovon explained that he and a colleague discovered a fourteenth century copy in Greek of a fourth century text that contains the most complete version of the "Acts of Philip" ever found. Although not included in the Bible, the "Acts of Philip" mentions the apostles and Mariamne, sister of the apostle Philip.
"When Philip is weak, she is strong," Bovon said. "She likely was a great teacher who even inspired her own sect of followers, called Mariamnists, who existed from around the 2nd to the 3rd century."
DNA Analysis
Jacobovici, director, co producer and writer of "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," and his team obtained two sets of samples from the ossuaries for DNA and chemical analysis. The first set consisted of bits of matter taken from the "Jesus Son of Joseph" and "Mariamene e Mara" ossuaries. The second set consisted of patina — a chemical film encrustation on one of the limestone boxes.
The human remains were analyzed by Carney Matheson, a scientist at the Paleo-DNA Laboratory at Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada. Mitochondrial DNA examination determined the individual in the Jesus ossuary and the person in the ossuary linked to Mary Magdalene were not related.
Since tombs normally contain either blood relations or spouses, Jacobovici and his team suggest it is possible Jesus and Mary Magdalene were a couple. "Judah," whom they indicate may have been their son, could have been the "lad" described in the Gospel of John as sleeping in Jesus' lap at the Last Supper.
Robert Genna, director of the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory in New York, analyzed both the patina taken from the Talpiot Tomb and chemical residue obtained from the "James" ossuary, which was also found around 1980, but subsequently disappeared and resurfaced in the antiquities market. Although controversy surrounds this burial box, Genna found that the two patinas matched.
"The samples were consistent with each other," Genna told Discovery News.
Upon examining the tomb, the filmmakers determined a space exists that would have fit the "James" ossuary. Given the patina match and this observation, Jacobovici theorizes the lost burial box could, in fact, be the "James" ossuary.
Statistical Data
Director James Cameron (Titanic director) and a team of scholars showed two stone ossuaries, or bone boxes, that he said might have once contained the bones of Jesus and Mary Magdalene."This is the beginnings of an ongoing investigation," Cameron said. "If things come to light that erode this investigation, then so be it." The filmmakers said that statistically there was a 1 in 600 chance that the names found on the inscriptions were not the family of Jesus.
Cameron's theory is parallel to that put forward by the Da Vinci Code book, in which it argues that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. Mr Cameron said: “It doesn’t get bigger than this. It’s one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. We’ve done our homework; we’ve made the case. Now it’s time for the debate to begin.” The empty 'coffins' were among ten first found by builders in Jerusalem in 1980.
A possible argument against the Talpiot Tomb being the Jesus Family Tomb is that the collection of names on the ossuary inscriptions could be coincidental.
But Andrey Feuerverger, professor of statistics and mathematics at the University of Toronto, recently conducted a study addressing the probabilities that will soon be published in a leading statistical journal.
(From various source)
When Dan Brown's novel was released, it caused quite a stir amongst academics, clerics and religious followers and critics across the world. Some argued his theories were purely illogical, even heretical, while others said they only gave validity to ones that have existed for many centuries. His most controversial theory is his account of the Holy Grail, which he asserts is not a chalice, but a human being - namely, Mary Magdalene. 
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