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The following is based on official documents and records from the Israel Antiquities Authority excavation archives, as well as Darrel Bock’s most helpful recent informal interview with Professor Amos Kloner, who was in 1980 the district supervisor of excavations in the Jerusalem, and Kloner’s extensive excavation report published in Atiqot 29 (1996): 15-22.
The east Talpiot [...]

The Talpiot tomb discussion over the course of this fair month of March has taken many turns and twists with more than a 100,000 entries showing up in a basic Google search. There has clearly been more “heat than light” as several have pointed out. In the Blogging world, which I think no one person [...]

When Stephen Pfann announced his “corrected reading” of the Talpiot inscription (IAA 80.500) as published by L. H. Rahmani (#701) just four days ago, insisting the veteran epigrapher had missed a word (kai/and), and misread the name Mariamne, I must admit it gave me pause. I am no epigrapher but I had studied the inscription [...]

One crucial point that one would not expect the media to pick up on in headlining Stephen Pfann’s contention that the ossuary inscription reading: mariamene e mara (IAA 80.500 #701 in Rahmani’s catalogue) is actually two women: a Mariame and a Mara ( or Martha as he reads it), is that little letter or stroke [...]

One positive result of the controversy over the Simcha Jacobovici film “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” is that scholars have turned their attention to the Talpiot tomb and its cluster of names. This can only be good in that a wider and more open discussion of what we can know about this tomb is likely [...]

I do not like to get into personal diatribes on this Blog. It is the nature of the Blogging world it seems that a hot and controversial topic elicits such a storm of confusing responses, and depending on the topic, personal attacks and other unpleasantries. I find it is best to ignore such things and [...]

I normally do not like to focus my comments on this Blog on individuals and their views. However, I did want to say something this morning that picks up on Ben Witherington’s Blog, as well as statements he has also made in today’s edition of our local paper, The Charlotte Observer, about the “Jesus Tomb” [...]

I have had a front row side-line seat for the past seven days on the news, commentary, and Blogs regarding the Talpiot tomb and the claim that it can be identified with Jesus of Nazareth and his family. Over 5000 e-mails, dozens of interiews, a couple of death threats, and my own communications with colleagues, [...]

In November, 2005 the news spread quickly around the world:
Oldest “church” ever found has been discovered near the biblical site of Armageddon!
The site was uncovered on the grounds of a modern Israeli prison near Megiddo. It gives us a precious glimpse into early Christian worship and devotion before the time of Constantine (325 AD), for [...]