A fresh archaeological find in Jerusalem could influence the foundations of Christianity
Cinematographer and amateur archaeologist Simha Dzhakobovici, also known as the "naked archaeologist," held a press conference on February 28 to present photographs of sarcophagi dating from the first century AD. It is believed to be the earliest Christian burial in history. The stone sarcophagi were unearthed during excavations carried out in Jerusalem's Armon HaNatsiv area by a group of archaeologists, assisted by the University of Charlotte religious historian James Tabor, an ardent supporter of Jacobovici's research.
One of the sarcophagi depicts a fish holding a human head in its mouth. According to Tabor's hypothesis, we are talking about the prophet Jonah. Fish is one of the most ancient Christian symbols, since the early Christians deciphered the Greek word "ichthys" as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. " No images of fish were found in Jewish burials.
An even more interesting graffiti was found on the second sarcophagus. This is the inscription: "Lord, get up, get up!" … According to Dzhakobovici and Tabor, it refers to the Resurrection of Christ, but one should not forget that the Pharisees and Essenes also believed in the resurrection from the dead.
Copies of fish drawings and inscriptions. Below is the original plate with the inscription
Promotional video:
Photo: Getty Images / D. Ward
Photo: Getty Images / D. Ward
Photo: Getty Images / D. Ward
Due to the resistance of the Orthodox, the researchers were unable to remove the sarcophagi from the burial cave - in order to take pictures, they had to use a robot. However, it is clear that the burials date back to the period before the Jewish uprising in 70. Since the Christian community was then very small, it is highly likely that we are talking about the tomb of one of the apostles.
Dzhakobovici is sure that the new discovery confirms his claims that it was in this area of the Holy City that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, whom he considers the wife of the founder of the Christian religion, were buried. In 2007, he made a splash in the pseudo-scientific world, claiming that he had managed to find their tomb.
The director, famous for his Discovery TV series Naked Archaeologist, claims that both burials are located on a piece of land that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, who was involved in the burial of Jesus. He believes that the new find finally proves the correctness of his theory.
It is noteworthy that even those archaeologists who consider the research of their fellow "amateurish", called the discovery of Dzhakobovici a sensation that could shed light on the history of early Christianity. They expressed the hope that she would not be buried under the pseudoscientific theories characteristic of him.