In this video I relate the remarkable discovery in 2000 of a Cave west of Jerusalem, at Suba, that has what might be the earliest art work related to the John the Baptist-Jesus movement–right outside John’s village of Ein Kerem. What we found in our excavations (2000-2006) shed some remarkable…
Our knowledge of the hamlet of Nazareth, not mentioned in any early non-Christian textual sources, has grown exponentially over the past few decades. In this video I survey what we now know and how it might shed light on our understanding of Jesus and his family–from his childhood growing up…
Late yesterday I posted my first YouTube video of 2024–which is #3 of my new series I am calling “Jesus Archaeology.” It already has over 4K views in less than 24 hours. The video has to do with the “Forgotten City of Sepphoris,” on a very basic level. Many of…
The story of Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross of Jesus as related in the gospel of Mark is quite remarkable for both its brevity and its content. It is conveyed in s single verse in Mark 15:21 as Jesus is being led away by the Romans to be crucified.…
Caution: This presentation is 1.5 hours and is for serious students of the historical Jesus–which I believe my Blog readers and subscribers are. In this age of TikTok, Shorts, YT videos that are never supposed to be longer than 12 minutes, it will find its rightful place. It is not…
This is the introduction to an exciting NEW SERIES on my Youtube Channel I am short-titling “Jesus Archaeology.” The idea is to highlight the ways in which scientifically conducted archaeology in the Holy Land has contributed to our historical understanding of the “Jesus Movement” or the rise of early Christianity.…
This short home movie clip captures, in a very fuzzy and faded way, my first time visiting Jerusalem in July, 1962–now over 60 years ago! I was just 16 years old, in my “Buddy Holly” teenage stage, having lived outside of Paris the previous year and wanting to major in…
I would love to meet and spend time with some of my blog readers this Fall in San Antonio, November 17-19 for the “26th annual “Bible and Archaeology Fest.” Click on the link for all the details. I have been at these for all but two of the 25 years!…
David Clausen, The Upper Room and Tomb of David: The History, Art and Archaeology of the Cenacle on Mount Zion (McFarland, 2016). This fascinating Medieval structure, visited by millions of Christian a year as the “Room of the Last Supper,” whereas the lower floor is revered by Jews as the…
Ken Dark, Archaeology of Jesus’ Nazareth (Oxford, 2023) (Kindle link), is a marvelous little “must have” volume for anyone interested in the a readable summary of the evidence. The archaeology of ancient 1st century CE Nazareth has been controversial over the years, with some even claiming there was no such…