House From Jesus' Time Found In Nazareth

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House From Jesus' Time Found In Nazareth

1:29pm UK, Monday December 21, 2009

Dominic Waghorn, Middle East correspondent

Israeli archaeologists claim to have unearthed the first remains of a house from Jesus's home town Nazareth, dating from the time he is believed to have lived.

The remains date back 2,000 years. Photo: Israeli Antiquities Authority

The discovery has been made close to the spot millions believe was the home of his mother, Mary.

"The discovery is of the utmost importance," said Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

"It reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus."

The find has been announced with festive good timing.

According to the Bible, Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, lived in Nazareth after his birth in Bethlehem and throughout his childhood and early youth.

But until now the only archaeologicals remains of the settlement from that time, known as the Early Roman Era, were tombs. This is the first time evidence of a dwelling place has been unearthed.

Archaeologists made the find whilst excavating a site next to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Pope Benedict celebrates mass during a visit to Nazareth

The church was erected in 1969 on the spot where the Catholic faith believes the Angel Gabriel revealed to Mary she would conceive a child born to be the Son of God.

According to Christian belief Mary and Joseph then made the long journey to Bethlehem in Judea to take part in a Roman census.

There they found only a cave to shelter in where Jesus is believed to have been born. Millions of Christian believers visit the two sites in Bethlehem and Nazareth each year.

According to the IAA, their discovery in Nazareth reveals a "building [that] consisted of two rooms and a courtyard in which there was a rock-hewn cistern into which the rainwater was conveyed.

"The artifacts recovered from inside the building were few and mostly included fragments of pottery vessels from the Early Roman period (the first and second centuries CE).

"In addition, several fragments of chalk vessels were found, which were only used by Jews in this period because such vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean."

There is no claim at this stage that the house was that of Jesus and his family.

Site with Church of the Annunciation behind. Pic: Israeli Antiquities Authority

Archeologists Find Remains Of A House From Jesus' Era In Nazareth, Israel | World News | Sky News

 

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House uncovered in Nazareth dating to the time of Jesus
December 21, 2009 11:31 a.m. EST

The remains of the ancient dwelling will be displayed as part of a new center in Nazareth honoring Mary.

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Archaeologists in Israel say they have discovered the remains of a home from the time of Jesus in the heart of Nazareth.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the find "sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus" in the Jewish settlement of Nazareth, where Christians believe Jesus grew up.

The find marks the first time researchers have uncovered the remains of a home in Nazareth from that time period, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

"The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period," Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director for the authority, said in the statement.

"Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period."

Christians believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived in Nazareth with her husband, Joseph. They believe Mary was in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel revealed that Mary would give birth to the son of God, a baby to be named Jesus.

A number of burial caves that date to the early Roman period also were discovered close to the inhabited area during the excavations, the authority said.

The discovery was made in the modern city of Nazareth during an excavation in advance of construction of the International Marian Center of Nazareth, which will illustrate the life of Mary.

An association in Nazareth plans to conserve and display the home's remains in the center. It will be built next to the Church of the Annunciation, which stands on the spot where Catholics believe Mary once lived.

The Church of the Annunciation is in the heart of Nazareth, above an older church and atop the ruins of a church from the Byzantine period.

In the middle of these churches is a cave that was believed in antiquity to be the home of Jesus' family. Researchers found storage pits and cisterns in the compound of the Church of the Annunciation, many of which date to the time of Jesus, Israeli archaeologists said.

In the excavation, a large, broad wall that dates to the 15th century was exposed. It was constructed on top of and used the walls of an ancient building, the statement said.

This earlier building -- the one that dates to the time of Jesus -- consisted of two rooms and a courtyard in which a rock-hewn cistern collected rainwater. Few artifacts were recovered from inside the building -- mostly fragments of pottery vessels from the first and second centuries.

Also, researchers found several fragments of chalk vessels, which were used by Jews in this period because such vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean, researchers said.

Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery fragments from the early Roman period were found inside it.

"Based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the great revolt against the Romans in [A.D.] 67," Alexandre said.

House uncovered in Nazareth dating to the time of Jesus - CNN.com

 

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more about Nazareth here -

Nazareth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

pictures from the above link -

The Church of the Annunciation

Nazareth in 1842

The inside of St Joseph's Church

Nazareth women as depicted in an old postcard.

 

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Photos: Jesus' boyhood home could have looked like this - People's Daily Online

Photos: Jesus' boyhood home could have looked like this

15:22, December 23, 2009

According to the Daily Mail, just several days before Christmas, a dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

An Israeli archeologist explained that the discovery of the dwelling would shed light on what the hamlet described in the New Testament, where Jesus spent his childhood, was like.

Nazareth is an auspicious place for many Christians. It's considered to be the place where Jesus grew up and where Mary was told she would bear God's child by an angel.

The local Christians were delighted when the news broke, as it happened just several days before Christmas, a celebration of the birth of Christ.

Now the focus is to clear the ruins above the dwelling which was build later and preserve the dwelling itself. A new international Christian center will be built here. While the limited space and the population density in Nazareth means the archaeologies will be unlikely to continue their work.

The uncovered remains may tell us what Jesus' boyhood home might have looked like.

By People's Daily Online/Agencies

A dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

A dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

A dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

A dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

A dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

A dwelling dating back to Jesus' time has been uncovered in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth for the first time.

(People's Daily Online Photo/Agencies Photo)