We watched the Discovery Channel special last night, and the Ted Koppel hosted discussion afterward. For those who may have missed it, the film examines evidence from a tomb first discovered in 1980 during construction of an apartment complex in Jerusalem. Construction was temporarily halted while archaeologists retrieved the contents and made an archaeological record of site. 10 ossuaries, small limestone boxes used to store the bones of the dead after decomposition, were found in the tomb which was dated to the 1st century. The Israel Antiquity Authority had 9 of the 10 ossuaries in storage (one was never received, or has since been lost). 6 of them were inscribed with names the filmmakers claim can be linked to the genealogy of Jesus, including:
- Maria – a Latinized form of Mary
- Matthew – a name common in Jesus’ maternal lineage
- Simon
- Jesus son of Joseph – in Aramaic
- Mariamne – in Greek, and a name reportedly used for Mary Magdalene in the Acts of Phillip (her brother)
- Judah son of Jesus – the most decorated ossuary
I now understand some of the criticism that has been leveled against the docudrama. As a scientist, it bothers me that a “journalist/filmmaker” went down in the tomb without any scientific backup. I think this lack of scientific rigor is a detriment to the overall hypothesis. At this point, even if the filmmakers are correct, or even on the right track, they’ve given their detractors too much ammunition to tear their hypothesis down thanks to their sloppy science.
