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The James Ossuary - The aramaic inscription on the ancient
limestone burial box reads simply, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."
Unveiled in 2002, those few words on a prosaic 2,000-year-old ossuary launched
a media frenzy and ignited a political row among archaeologists and Bible
scholars. Hershel Shanks, Biblical Archaeology Review's editor, called
the ossuary "the most important find in the history of New Testament
archaeology."
Biblical
Archaeology's Dusty Little Secret, The James bone box controversy reveals the
politics beneath the science.
2.
Airing Differences, Jesus Tomb Controversy Erupts Again
Claims that the family tomb of Jesus has been found in the East Talpiot section
of Jerusalem have sparked bitter debate for a second time. The first furor
occurred in March 2007 when the Discovery Channel aired “The Lost Tomb of
Jesus,” which claimed that the Talpiot tomb not only contained the ossuary (bone
box) of Jesus but also that of Mary Magdalene, who the program claimed had been
Jesus’ wife, and also that of a Judah son of Jesus, who the program suggested
had been the son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The program further suggested that
one ossuary, originally discovered along with nine others in the Talpiot tomb
but which has since been lost, was in fact the “James brother of Jesus” ossuary
that first made headlines of its own in late 2002.
