Archaeologists may have found a reliquary of Jesus’ apostles

From Aleteia-

Further evidence has emerged to confirm last year’s discovery of the home of Jesus’ apostles on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, according to archaeologists from the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins and Nyack College who are leading excavations there.

Most startling of all, is the discovery of what archaeologists believe may be a reliquary that once contained relics of three apostles.

Last year archaeologists believed they had found the ancient fishing village of Bethsaida, mentioned in the New Testament as the home of the apostles, after unearthing Roman ruins beneath a Byzantine church that, according to the records of a pilgrim from that time, was built over the house of Peter and Andrew.

The finding corroborated an account of a pilgrimage made by a Christian named Willibald who traveled through the area in 725. He noted that he visited a church in Bethsaida that stood over the house of Peter and Andrew.

More here-

https://aleteia.org/2018/07/31/archaeologists-may-have-found-a-reliquary-of-jesus-apostles/  

Is This the Prophet Isaiah’s Signature?

From Biblical Archeology-


King Hezekiah is one of the most important kings in the history of Israel. While scholars debate the historicity and literary embellishment of the reigns of David and Solomon, the reign of Hezekiah witnessed the defining event that engendered the tradition of Jerusalem as the inviolable city of God—an event corroborated by the extra-Biblical account inscribed on the Sennacherib Prisms. Despite the conflicting details, Sennacherib’s inability to destroy Jerusalem confirmed both Hezekiah and Jerusalem as God’s chosen. And it was the prophet Isaiah’s participation in the episode, and Hezekiah’s trust in his counsel, that is credited with the salvation of Jerusalem from the Assyrian menace.

When King Hezekiah was crowned king of Judah, in 727 B.C.E., he maintained the policy of his father, Aḥaz, who had asked the Assyrian king to come and save him from Peqaḥ ben Remaliyahu, king of Israel, and Reẓin, king of Aram-Damascus. These two kings had attacked Judah in concert and besieged Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 15:36–37). Hezekiah stayed loyal to the Assyrian king Sargon II (727–705 B.C.E.), who ruled during most of Hezekiah’s reign, while the surrounding kingdoms of Israel, Ḥamat, and those of the Philistines—one after the other—rebelled, were defeated, and became Assyrian vassals.

More here-

https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/44/2/7

30,000 Shards of Historic Stained Glass Found in Westminster Abbey’s Attic Read

The Smithonian's take on a previous story-

Westminster Abbey is one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions, but the vast majority of visitors have never seen its best feature: the view of the church’s interior from the triforium, a space used as an attic in the upper levels of the church. It was called “the finest view in Europe” by Sir John Betjeman, former poet laureate of Great Britain. That space is being remodeled into a museum, and in the process of cleaning it out, reports Maev Kennedy at The Guardian, researchers discovered 30,000 shards of stained glass from over the course of centuries of changes at the church. Those shards have since been conserved and are being reconstituted into new displays for a recently built tower.

Kennedy reports that archaeologist Warwick Rodwell first noticed the shards of glass glittering among dust and dirt in five-foot deep cone-shaped pits created by the cathedral’s vaulted ceilings. “Once I saw the glass, the penny dropped,” he said. “I realized this was treasure, not rubbish, and we would have to go through every inch of it. The workmen thought I was mad.”


Read more:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/30000-shards-historic-stained-glass-found-westminster-abbeys-attic-180967663/#ClH3dK86SMAtDTuC.99

Westminster Abbey's attics yield a treasure trove of stained glass

From The Guardian-

When the archaeologist Warwick Rodwell scooped up a handful of dust from the attics of Westminster Abbey and saw dozens of tiny fragments of glass glittering in the grime, he realised they were dealing with excavation, not house clearance.

The salvaged glass – some dating back to the 13th century, including stars, flowers and sun rays, fierce little mythical animals and beautiful medieval faces – is being recycled into dazzling new windows being made for the abbey at the stained glass studio at Canterbury Cathedral, where some of the original medieval glass artists may have worked.

The Westminster attics, the triforium, were being cleared out to create a museum space opening next year. It will be the first time the general public has been admitted to the spectacular space.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/27/westminster-abbey-attics-archaeologists-treasure-trove-stained-glass

Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible

From Biblical Archeology-

After two decades toiling in the quiet groves of academe, I published an article in BAR titled “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible.”a The enormous interest this article generated was a complete surprise to me. Nearly 40 websites in six languages, reflecting a wide spectrum of secular and religious orientations, linked to BAR’s supplementary web page.b Some even posted translations.

I thought about following up with a similar article on people in the New Testament, but I soon realized that this would be so dominated by the question of Jesus’ existence that I needed to consider this question separately. This is that article:1

Did Jesus of Nazareth, who was called Christ, exist as a real human being, “the man Christ Jesus” according to 1 Timothy 2:5?

The sources normally discussed fall into three main categories: (1) classical (that is, Greco-Roman), (2) Jewish and (3) Christian. But when people ask whether it is possible to prove that Jesus of Nazareth actually existed, as John P. Meier pointed out decades ago, “The implication is that the Biblical evidence for Jesus is biased because it is encased in a theological text written by committed believers.2 What they really want to know is: Is there extra-Biblical evidence … for Jesus’ existence?”c

Therefore, this article will cover classical and Jewish writings almost exclusively.3

More here-

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/did-jesus-exist/

Santa Claus's tomb may have been uncovered beneath Turkish church

From The Guardian-

Turkish archaeologists have dashed the hopes of millions of children by claiming to have uncovered the likely burial place of Saint Nicholas.

Surveys have uncovered an intact temple and burial grounds below St Nicholas church in the province of Antalya, where he is believed to have been born, archaeologists told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

“We have obtained very good results but the real work starts now,” said Cemil Karabayram, the director of surveying and monuments in Antalya. “We will reach the ground and maybe we will find the untouched body of Saint Nicholas.”

Revered for his gift-giving and aid to the poor, the 4th-century saint gave rise to the legend of Santa Claus.

In recent years, the church in Demre district in Antalya, near his birthplace, has been restored and draws many visitors. Demre is built on the ruins of Myra, the city where Saint Nicholas, revered by many denominations in Christianity, is believed to have lived.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/04/santa-claus-tomb-may-have-been-uncovered-beneath-turkish-church-saint-nicholas

Ancient DNA reveals fate of the mysterious Canaanites

From Science-

When the pharaohs ruled Egypt and the ancient Greeks built their first cities, a mysterious people called the Canaanites dominated the Near East. Around 4000 years ago, they built cities across the Levant, which includes present-day Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and part of Syria. Yet the Canaanites left no surviving written records, leaving researchers to piece together their history from secondhand sources.

One of those sources is the Bible’s Old Testament, which suggests a grisly end for many Canaanites: After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, God ordered them to destroy Canaan and its people (though other passages suggest that some Canaanites may have survived). But did that really happen? Archaeological data suggests that Canaanite cities were never destroyed or abandoned. Now, ancient DNA recovered from five Canaanite skeletons suggests that these people survived to contribute their genes to millions of people living today.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/ancient-dna-counters-biblical-account-mysterious-canaanites

New finds suggest Second Temple priests who fled the Romans kept up holy rituals in the Galilee

From Times of Israel-

The hometown of the most popular sinner of the New Testament may also have been the seat of one of the priestly families that fled Jerusalem to the Galilee after the fall of the Second Temple at the hands of the Romans.

A combination of recent findings at Magdala — home of Jesus disciple Mary Magdalene (who was recently celebrated by Catholics on her July 22 feast day) and the Jewish historian Joseph Flavius — point to a developed priestly culture with echoes of ancient Jerusalem at the site.

The question scholars are now exploring is just how much of the Temple practice the priests took along with them when they fled.

In 2009, the Israel Antiquities Authority began salvage excavations of the site ahead of the construction of a proposed visitors center and hotel, and found an extremely rare early synagogue. As recorded in a May 2017 article in Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR), “One of perhaps only eight synagogues identified so far in Israel as dating from the first century C.E., it provided one splendid find — the so-called Magdala Stone, a Torah reading table sculpted in stone with reliefs depicting a seven-branched menorah and possibly the Jerusalem Temple.”

More here-

http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-finds-suggest-second-temple-priests-who-fled-the-romans-kept-up-holy-rituals-in-the-galilee/

A Tiny Church Sits On Britain’s Oldest Site of Continuous Worship

From Smithsonian-

Starting in the Reformation period, the building was used as an Anglican place of worship, according to the website of the Shrewsbury Orthodox Church, which purchased the property for £50 in 1994. The church was not used for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, but the community would periodically congregate there. “I'm told by the parishioners that once a year they held a service there in order to retain its consecrated status,” Green says. “Although it was in a poor state of repair, a service was still conducted there. So it was still for all intents and purposes a functioning church.”

While a window has been opened into the site’s expansive history, the area remains mysterious. Recently, for instance, archaeologists unearthed a series of animal graves containing the remains of a calf, several birds, a pig and a dog that appeared to have died while giving birth. Based on their location within the stratigraphy, Green believes that these bones date to the medieval period. And that makes them a highly unusual discovery; animal remains are not typically found on consecrated grounds.

More here-

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-church-england-sits-sacred-pagan-ground-experts-say-180963449/

Historic restoration of Jesus’ tomb completed

From Crux-

The tomb of Jesus has been resurrected to its former glory.

Just in time for Easter, a Greek restoration team has completed a historic renovation of the Edicule, the shrine that tradition says houses the cave where Jesus was entombed and resurrected.
Gone is the unsightly iron cage built around the shrine by British authorities in 1947 to shore up the walls. Gone is the black soot on the shrine’s stone façade from decades of pilgrims lighting candles. And gone are fears about the stability of the old shrine, which hadn’t been restored in more than 200 years.

“If this intervention hadn’t happened now, there is a very great risk that there could have been a collapse,” Bonnie Burnham of the World Monuments Fund said Monday. “This is a complete transformation of the monument.”

More here-

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/03/22/historic-restoration-jesus-tomb-completed/

Has the Childhood Home of Jesus Been Found?

From Biblical Archeology-

The childhood home of Jesus may have been found underneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent in Nazareth, Israel, according to archaeologist Ken Dark.

The excavation site located beneath the convent has been known since 1880, but it was never professionally excavated until the Nazareth Archaeological Project began its work in 2006. In “Has Jesus’ Nazareth House Been Found?” in the March/April 2015 issue of BAR, Ken Dark, the director of the Nazareth Archaeological Project, not only describes the remains of the home itself, but explores the evidence that suggests that this is the place where Jesus spent his formative years—or at least the place regarded in the Byzantine period as the childhood home of Jesus.

More here-

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/has-the-childhood-home-of-jesus-been-found/

Archaeologists declare nail a ‘fantasy’ crucifixion-relic

From The Church Times-

AN ARCHAEOLOGIST who identified a first-century Roman nail, which has been claimed as a possible holy relic kept by the Knights Templar in Madeira, said last week that it could not possibly have been used in a crucifixion.

Bryn Walters, the director and secretary of the Association for Roman Archaeology, dated the nail as early Roman, after he was visited by two men from Worthing, Sussex. They showed him a highly polished nail, which was kept in a carved box.

Mr Walters said on Thursday of last week that he had been subject to criticism from colleagues, after a story had appeared in the national press, quoting a member of the Knights Templar of Britannia, who described the nail as a “relic from crucifixion”.

Mr Walters said that about seven weeks ago he had been asked to inspect the nail. “It was a Roman nail. There are millions of Roman nails, perhaps billions. It could not possibly be from a crucifixion be cause if it had been hammered in, it would have been bent — and this is dead straight.

“They did not tell me where it came from. I would not accept it as a nail coming from any crucifixion. It was perfectly preserved. It was four inches long, which I would say was a bit short for a crucifixion. A crucifixion pin could be longer than that.

“Most people were strapped to the crucifixion pole, and the nails were hammered in as added torture, but they did not hang by the nails. If the nail was hammered in, it would have had to be pulled out with something like a claw hammer before the body was removed, and that would have left it bent.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=91055