In 2017, numerous archaeological discoveries were made, which researchers associate with stories in the Bible, including historical information about the tomb of Jesus Christ.
From the pottery workshops near the ancient city of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine; before the possible discovery of the bones of St. Peter, the first disciple of Jesus and the first Pope of Rome in the Catholic Church; and before the excavations, testifying to the major battles and conquests described in the Bible.
In some cases, such as the analysis of lime samples at the Tomb of Christ, it was the dependence on technological methods that gave new insight into the evidence for some of the most important Christian events in history.
Here are some of the biggest biblical archaeological discoveries in 2017:
1. Tomb of Jesus Christ
Last year, the renovation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem began, but in November, new scientific research was carried out, as a result of which it was discovered that the tomb, which is believed to have been the location of the body of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion, matches previous historical accounts of the famous site …
Samples of mortar collected between the original limestone surface of the tomb and the marble slab that covers it were analyzed using optically stimulated luminescence, allowing researchers to determine when the quartz sediment was most recently exposed.
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Research has shown that in 345 CE, Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor, discovered the tomb and preserved it in his quest to bring the Roman Empire to Christianity.
“This is a very important conclusion, because it confirms that he, as historically proven, was Constantine the Great, who was responsible for the cladding of the rock of the tomb of Christ with marble slabs in Edikula,” said Antonia Moropoulou, Chief Scientific Coordinator of the restoration work.
2. Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem
Excavation work carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Jerusalem Walls National Park in July revealed abundant evidence of the conquest of Jerusalem by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th century BC, as described in the Old Testament.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said it found a variety of unique and rare artifacts, including charred wood, grape seeds, pottery, fish scales and bones.
“These finds show the wealth and character of Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, and provide proof of the city's destruction at the hands of the Babylonians,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said.
The historic event is of great importance to both Jews and Christians because the persecution ended in 538 BC when Cyrus the Great gave permission for the Jews to return to Palestine.
3. First Revelation from Jacob
Bible scholars at the University of Texas at Austin reported in November that they had found an "original copy" of the First Revelation from Jacob.
Scholars have uncovered fragments of a manuscript written sometime in the fifth or sixth century.
The text, which is considered heretical because it goes beyond the canon of the New Testament books, includes the revelations that Jesus told Jacob about the kingdom of heaven.
“The text complements the biblical account of the life and ministry of Jesus by allowing us to access the conversations that allegedly took place between Jesus and his brother, Jacob - the secret teachings that made Jacob a good teacher after Jesus died,” explained Jeffrey Smith, assistant professor Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
The ancient text is 52 manuscripts compiled between the second and sixth centuries. The text is now part of the Naga Hammadi library, most of which is written in Coptic.
4. The bones of St. Peter
A worker in Rome discovered in September bones inside earthen pots in the Church of Santa Maria in Cappella, which are said to belong to Saint Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, revered by the Roman Catholics as the first pope.
The Vatican said at the time that it would look forward to comparing the DNA of the relics found and the bones of St. Peter before talking about their authenticity.
The worker said the pots containing the bones were found buried under a large marble slab near the church's medieval altar, which had been closed for 35 years.
The relics may have been kept in the church of Santa Maria for centuries after the conflict of power with the Catholic Church, during the reign of Pope Urban II in the 11th century.
The Bible says that Peter denied Christ three times before he repented and was then crucified upside down in Rome in the first century as a Christian martyr.