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Bone Box Found in Israel Appears to Provide Oldest Archaeological Evidence of Jesus
Aired October 22, 2002 - 05:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: A bone box almost 2,000 years old was recently found in Israel and experts say that it appears to provide the oldest archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ.
Here's CNN's Garrick Utley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is only a stone box 12 inches high, 22 wide and 10 deep, but for Christians, it may be so much more than that. For this box, it is believed, once held the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. That was the claim made and the evidence presented at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
HERSHEL SHANKS, "BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW": Something so startling, so earth shattering, in its way.
UTLEY: Hershel Shanks, a specialist on biblical archaeology, says that bone bones, known as ossuaries (ph), were common in the time of Christ and James.
SHANKS: And not worth a whole lot because nobody wants to put a bone box in the living room. And this man paid a few hundred dollars for it about 15 years ago.
UTLEY (on camera): The anonymous Israeli collector says he purchased the box from an antiquities dealer who said he had obtained it in an Arab village which is part of today's Jerusalem. No one paid much attention to it until the Aramaic (ph) lettering on the side of the box -- that's the language used in the time of Christ -- was deciphered with the stunning words, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."
(voice-over): But who was James, who was often depicted in the Holy Family? Some religious scholars say he was the full brother of Jesus. Others claim he was a half brother. There are those who believe he was only a cousin. There is no question he was the first apostle. Following Jesus' crucifixion, he went on to lead the Jerusalem church until he, too, was martyred some 30 years after Christ.
Under the practice of the time, he would have been buried and then, about a year later, his bones would have been recovered and placed in a box. But how can anyone be certain that they were placed in this box? No remnants of bones were found in it. Tests on the box and its inscription are said to have confirmed the dating to the time of James' death and the origin of the stone to the area around Jerusalem. Still, some skeptics point out that in Jerusalem at the time, a city of an estimated 40,000 people, James, Joseph and Jesus were as common names as Tom, Dick and Harry today. It is the inclusion of Jesus' name that is said to be significant.
SHANKS: And the only reason the brother would be named is that either the brother was responsible for burying the deceased or the brother was prominent and the brother was associated with the deceased.
UTLEY: No doubt scholars will debate the authenticity of this limestone box, but there's no debate about what it could symbolize -- a direct, tangible connection to the history and mystery of faith.
Garrick Utley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Archaeological Evidence of Jesus>
Aired October 22, 2002 - 05:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: A bone box almost 2,000 years old was recently found in Israel and experts say that it appears to provide the oldest archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ.
Here's CNN's Garrick Utley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is only a stone box 12 inches high, 22 wide and 10 deep, but for Christians, it may be so much more than that. For this box, it is believed, once held the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. That was the claim made and the evidence presented at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
HERSHEL SHANKS, "BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW": Something so startling, so earth shattering, in its way.
UTLEY: Hershel Shanks, a specialist on biblical archaeology, says that bone bones, known as ossuaries (ph), were common in the time of Christ and James.
SHANKS: And not worth a whole lot because nobody wants to put a bone box in the living room. And this man paid a few hundred dollars for it about 15 years ago.
UTLEY (on camera): The anonymous Israeli collector says he purchased the box from an antiquities dealer who said he had obtained it in an Arab village which is part of today's Jerusalem. No one paid much attention to it until the Aramaic (ph) lettering on the side of the box -- that's the language used in the time of Christ -- was deciphered with the stunning words, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."
(voice-over): But who was James, who was often depicted in the Holy Family? Some religious scholars say he was the full brother of Jesus. Others claim he was a half brother. There are those who believe he was only a cousin. There is no question he was the first apostle. Following Jesus' crucifixion, he went on to lead the Jerusalem church until he, too, was martyred some 30 years after Christ.
Under the practice of the time, he would have been buried and then, about a year later, his bones would have been recovered and placed in a box. But how can anyone be certain that they were placed in this box? No remnants of bones were found in it. Tests on the box and its inscription are said to have confirmed the dating to the time of James' death and the origin of the stone to the area around Jerusalem. Still, some skeptics point out that in Jerusalem at the time, a city of an estimated 40,000 people, James, Joseph and Jesus were as common names as Tom, Dick and Harry today. It is the inclusion of Jesus' name that is said to be significant.
SHANKS: And the only reason the brother would be named is that either the brother was responsible for burying the deceased or the brother was prominent and the brother was associated with the deceased.
UTLEY: No doubt scholars will debate the authenticity of this limestone box, but there's no debate about what it could symbolize -- a direct, tangible connection to the history and mystery of faith.
Garrick Utley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Archaeological Evidence of Jesus>
