Jesus and Archaeology

Although there is no archaeological evidence directly pointing to the existence of Jesus, there is an abundance of archaeological evidence that relates to the time period that Jesus lived, to people that Jesus encountered while here on earth and also to the early Christian church.  These include the Galilee boat and the ossuary of James (Jesus’s brother).

"Jesus boat"

In 1986, the waters of the Sea of Galilee were at low levels (Currie & Hyslop, 2010, p. 274).  This is when what has been called the Galilee boat (and also known as the “Jesus boat”) was found.  The boat measures 30 feet long and 8 feet wide (Currie & Hyslop, 2010, p. 274).  It is dated back between the last of the 1^st century B.C.E. and the middle of 1^st century C.E. (Currie & Hyslop, 2010, p. 274).

The ossuary possibly belonging to James, Jesus’s half-brother has also been found (Vergano, 2010).  The limestone box containing human remains has an inscription on the outside that states, “James, son 

of Joseph, brother of Jesus” (Vergano, 2010).  Bone boxes of this sort were used between the years 20 B.C. and 70 A.D.  James died in A.D. 62 (Vergano, 2010).  The inscription seems to be authentic, but it cannot be verified.  There are claims that the “brother of Jesus” part of the inscription could have been forged, but nonetheless it could have belonged to James.

The Possible Ossuary of
James, half-brother of Jesus

Although these two finds do not point to anything concrete, they are appealing.  If the ossuary and its inscription are indeed authentic, this could point to the existence of Jesus.  Although the boat found in the Sea of Galilee was named the “Jesus boat”, this shows that boats existed during that time period that could carry thirteen people, Jesus and his 12 disciples, as occurred several times in the Gospels (Currie & Hyslop, 2010, p. 274).  This both are very interesting finds, although the meaning of these finds are a matter of opinion.

Note:  I will be changing the posting schedule to only twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) in order to allow time for more thorough research.  Also, I will be editing past posts in order to be more thorough on those posts.  Thanks for your understanding.

References:

Currie, R., & Hyslop, S. G. (2010). The letter and the scroll, what archaeology tells us about the bible. Natl Geographic Society.

[Untitled photograph of the possible ossuary of James]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2013, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/story/2012-03-17/james-ossuary-jesus/53578490/1

[Untitled photograph of the Jesus Boat]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2013, from                      

                http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jesus-boat

Vergano, D. (2012, March 18). 'james ossuary’ verdict adds to burial box furor. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/story/2012-03-17/james-ossuary-jesus/53578490/1