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Inscription discovery links Jerusalem tomb to Jesus
Jerusalem, Aug 22: For centuries passersby have thrown rocks at an ornate tomb in Jerusalem`s Kidron Valley, reviled as the traditional burial place of the biblical King David`s villainous son Absalom.
Jerusalem, Aug 22: For centuries passersby have thrown rocks at an ornate tomb in Jerusalem's Kidron Valley, reviled as the traditional burial place of the biblical King David's villainous son Absalom.
But in one of those strange twists unique to the Holy Land -- where tombs can post-date by a millennium those believed buried there -- an inscription found on the crypt now points to it belonging not to Absalom but rather John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, and maybe even Jesus' brother James.
"It could be the most exciting discovery in absolutely decades," said Professor James Strange, an archaeologist at the University of South Florida who specialises in the Christian and Byzantine periods.
Early Christian writings refer to a tomb in Jerusalem where the bodies of Zacharias, James and Simeon -- another figure mentioned in the New Testament's Gospel of Saint Luke -- were buried. But the tradition was lost centuries ago.
Incredibly, the eyecatching mausoleum is a landmark in Jerusalem's Kidron Valley but has been mistaken for the tomb of Absalom, who actually died 1,000 years before the edifice was erected in the first century AD. The mistaken association with Absalom inspired passersby to pelt the tomb with stones as a sign of disgust with the behaviour of the Israelite prince who rebelled against his father, King David, and had affairs with his concubines.
"The stones wore away the surface, especially the inscription," said Joe Zias, the scholar who discovered the inscription. "It was no wonder people couldn't read the thing." Bureau Report
"It could be the most exciting discovery in absolutely decades," said Professor James Strange, an archaeologist at the University of South Florida who specialises in the Christian and Byzantine periods.
Early Christian writings refer to a tomb in Jerusalem where the bodies of Zacharias, James and Simeon -- another figure mentioned in the New Testament's Gospel of Saint Luke -- were buried. But the tradition was lost centuries ago.
Incredibly, the eyecatching mausoleum is a landmark in Jerusalem's Kidron Valley but has been mistaken for the tomb of Absalom, who actually died 1,000 years before the edifice was erected in the first century AD. The mistaken association with Absalom inspired passersby to pelt the tomb with stones as a sign of disgust with the behaviour of the Israelite prince who rebelled against his father, King David, and had affairs with his concubines.
"The stones wore away the surface, especially the inscription," said Joe Zias, the scholar who discovered the inscription. "It was no wonder people couldn't read the thing." Bureau Report