Does the 1980 Talpiot “Jesus Family Tomb” have any likely connection to the historical Jesus of Nazareth and his family? In January of 2008 a group of internationally renowned scholars from a broad range of disciplines met in Jerusalem to discuss that very question. Covering the archaeological facts about the…
For a bit of a change of pace, checkout this cartoon video a friend created. I only recognize myself in my dreams, but I really did rappel down Masada to get into the southern caves! See my post on the Masada Bones of Cave 2001 to find out what I…
Over the decades I have heard dozens of interviews with John Crossan, listened to his lectures, read his books, and spent time together in Jerusalem in 2007 with him and his wife Sarah, in endless conversation, visiting some of the “off the beaten tourist paths” places with Shimon Gibson. He…
In Part Two I relate the story of the ossuary or “bone box” from 1st century Jerusalem inscribe: “James son of Joseph Brother of Jesus” and its possible relationship to either the Shroud tomb or the Talpiot “Jesus Family” tomb. If you missed Part One see the previous post on…
Most of the important archaeological discoveries of of time have been almost wholly accidental. Those who look, never find, and those who are not looking, hit upon something amazing! The following is one of the greatest examples of that in my own 30 years of doing archaeology in the Holy…
I thought some of my readers might find this older lecture from 2010 of interest–both for what it says and what we knew at the time. Many have asked why I would call my primary book on the “Historical Jesus” the The Jesus Dynasty–and refer then to Jesus and his “royal…
There is a new scientific paper published just this week by a distinguished team of international geologists, chemists, and earth scientists, titled “The Geochemistry of Intrusive Sediment Sampled from the 1st Century CE Inscribed Ossuaries of James and the Talpiot Tomb,” that is now available on-line. Based on extensive soil…
In March, 2007, when all the publicity on the Talpiot Jesus tomb broke, I wrote a blog post that summarized what we knew at the time regarding the 1980 discovery and excavation of the “Jesus tomb,” and perhaps more important, what we did not know. It is still worth reading for…
I have written several posts recently on the different Jesus traditions reflected in Mark, our earliest gospel, and John, our latest, namely on The Last Days of Jesus, A Wedding at Cana, The First Burial of Jesus, and Comparing our Earliest and Latest Sources. If you missed any of these and…
I have been amazed over the years at what one assumes is in the New Testament Gospels and what is actually there. I have been teaching these texts for over 40 years and hardly a semester goes by when I don’t see something I had missed, or have something pointed…