Archaeology.

Inscriptions, buildings and objects that bear on the people, places and practices of the Gospels and Acts, together with the famous finds that turned out to be later or forged. Each is graded on whether it is genuine, whether its link to the text is secure, and what exactly it shows.

The resurrection What outsiders said Archaeology Dating the crucifixion

Established 6Probable 3Illustrative 2Disputed 5Later than claimed 1Forgery 2

Caesarea, 1961

The Pilate stone

A dedication by "Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judaea", the only inscription of his lifetime.

Established

Jerusalem, 1990

The Caiaphas ossuary

A decorated bone box inscribed "Joseph son of Caiaphas", from a family tomb in Jerusalem.

Probable

Delphi, early 20th century

The Gallio inscription

A letter of Claudius naming "Junius Gallio, my friend and proconsul", which dates Paul's stay in Corinth.

Established

Corinth, 1928-1929 and 1947

The Erastus pavement

A paving inscription: "Erastus in return for his aedileship paved it at his own expense."

Disputed

Jerusalem, 2004

The Pool of Siloam

The stepped Second Temple pool at the south end of the City of David, uncovered during sewer works.

Established

Jerusalem, 19th-20th c. excavations

The Pool of Bethesda

Twin pools beside St Anne's Church in the Muslim Quarter, long identified with John's Bethesda.

Probable

Nazareth, 2009 and earlier

First-century houses at Nazareth

A house and tombs of the early Roman period show a small Jewish village at Nazareth in Jesus' time.

Established

Capernaum, 1968 onward

The "house of Peter" at Capernaum

A modest 1st-century house, set apart for Christian use and later built over by an octagonal church.

Probable

Magdala, 2009

The Magdala synagogue and stone

A 1st-century synagogue at Magdala, with a carved stone showing the Temple and menorah.

Illustrative

Jerusalem (Giv'at ha-Mivtar), 1968

Jehohanan, a crucified man

A heel bone pierced by an iron nail, from an ossuary in a Jewish family tomb.

Established

Jerusalem, 1871 and 1936

The Temple warning inscription

Herod's Temple warning, in Greek: foreigners passing the barrier would be to blame for their own death.

Established

Sea of Galilee, 1986

The Galilee boat

A first-century fishing boat preserved in the mud, about 8 metres long, rowed and sailed.

Illustrative

Unprovenanced, published 2007

"Gabriel's Revelation"

An ink-written stone of Jewish prophecies; one line has "in three days", read very differently by its editors.

Disputed

Bought in Nazareth, 1878

The Nazareth inscription

A marble edict ordering death for violating tombs, once linked to the empty tomb; a study of the marble traces it to Kos.

Disputed

Antiquities market, made public 2002

The James ossuary

A genuine bone box whose inscription naming "Jesus" may in part be modern; a forgery trial ended in acquittal.

Disputed

Jerusalem, 1980

The Talpiot tomb

A family tomb with ossuaries bearing common names, presented in 2007 as Jesus' family grave.

Disputed

First recorded at Lirey, France, 1350s

The Shroud of Turin

A linen cloth with the image of a crucified man, radiocarbon-dated by three laboratories to 1260-1390.

Later than claimed

Presented 2012

The "Gospel of Jesus' Wife"

A Coptic fragment presented as ancient in 2012 and shown in 2016 to be a modern forgery.

Forgery

Publicized 2011

The Jordan lead codices

Small lead books said to come from a Jordanian cave; regarded by the antiquities authorities of Israel and Jordan as forgeries.

Forgery

← All finds

The James ossuary

GradeDisputed

Bears on: "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" (the inscription; cf. ; )
Found: Antiquities market, made public 2002
Date of object: box 1st century; inscription disputed

The James ossuary. Photo: Paradiso · Attribution · Wikimedia Commons

The Christian case

Paul writes that he met "James the Lord's brother" (), and Mark names James among Jesus' brothers (). In 2002 a 1st-century limestone ossuary owned by the collector Oded Golan was made public, inscribed in Aramaic "James, son of Joseph, brother of Yeshua". The box itself is genuine, defence experts such as Krumbein argued that the patina on the inscription is ancient, and a forgery trial (2004-2012) ended in acquittal. The Christian point, though, does not depend on the box: James and his relationship to Jesus are already attested by Paul, who knew him personally, and by the Jewish historian Josephus, whom most scholars accept on this point.

What the research found

Disputed. The box is genuine; the inscription, or part of it, is in doubt. Even if it were wholly genuine, it would at most be a possible ossuary of Jesus' brother, and it carries no weight. The historical case for James as Jesus' brother rests on Paul and Josephus.

Explore the counterarguments

In 2003 the Israel Antiquities Authority concluded that the inscription "is a modern forgery", and many epigraphers suspect that the words "brother of Yeshua" were added. The acquittal was for lack of proof, and the judge stressed that the verdict did not establish authenticity. All three names were common at the time, so even a genuine inscription would not securely point to Jesus' family. The box came from the antiquities market, not from an excavation.