Archaeological finds help historians correct the mistakes made by their predecessors and reveal the secrets of antiquity. Excavations are carried out all over the world. But they are especially significant in the Middle East, in particular in Israel, in the territory where Judaism originated. Each such excavation is inextricably linked with the Bible and makes its own adjustments to the dispute between those who consider the content of the great book to be fiction, and those who piously believe in its truth.
Find of the century
In the Israeli city of Nazareth, construction workers have cleared a site for a new Christian center next to the largest Church of the Annunciation in the Middle East. This temple is significant also because in 1969 it was erected over the very cave where the Virgin Mary was born. When the builders of the center, having opened a layer of earth, discovered the remains of an ancient building, they immediately stopped work. It happened on December 21 last year.
Scientists arrived in Nazareth and found that the discovered ruins were at least 2000 years old. It was immediately suggested that the Virgin Mary could have lived in this house with her son Jesus Christ and her husband Joseph.
Archaeologists who started work in Nazareth said that a residential building of that time was discovered here for the first time. Until now, the existence of the ancient Jewish settlement of Nazareth has been confirmed by only a few burials.
Argument in dispute with skeptics
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This find dealt a devastating blow to the positions of those who were skeptical of the biblical texts. In particular, the Spanish journalist Juan Fernández, known for his ironic articles on the Holy Scriptures, declared: “The Virgin Mary, as you know, was born in a cave. And to this day there is not the slightest evidence that Nazareth had normal houses at all. So where does the reason for believing in the Bible come from? If there is no certainty that a significant part of Christ's life was spent in a village whose existence is in doubt, then personally for me in this case the very existence of Jesus is also in doubt”. Now scientists, in turn, can claim that the skeptic is ashamed.
Modest dwelling
The newly discovered house is far from a luxurious home. It consists of two rooms, next to it there is a small courtyard, in which there is a well carved right into the stone to collect rainwater.
According to archaeologist Yardena Alexander, who leads the excavation, people of poor people lived in Nazareth.
- The found clay shards confirm our guess that an ordinary Jewish family lived in the discovered house. By the way, it was previously believed that there were no houses here and people huddled in caves, - noted Yardena.
Remains of a house in which the Holy Family may have lived
Without any doubts
English historian of religion Frank Oylever told reporters:
- Those who did not believe in the existence of houses in Nazareth, questioning the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus because of this, are put to shame. True, some experts consider the ownership of this building to the family of Christ unproven. But notice, Joseph was a carpenter, and carpentry tools were found in the house. Ancient written sources indicate that Nazareth was at the beginning of our era a very small Jewish village. It seems to me unlikely that a second professional carpenter was needed in such a village, and therefore Joseph was almost certainly the only such specialist here. If my premises are correct, then it was in this house that the carpenter Joseph lived and Jesus Christ grew up. Personally, I am absolutely sure of this.
Many other scientists are convinced that this is the most sensational archaeological find of the first decade of the 21st century.
Source: Secrets of the XX century, No. 6, February 2010, Boris LEVIN