Archeologists uncover village from Jesus' era
Source: Agencies |
December 22, 2009, Tuesday
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DAYS before Christmas, archeologists yesterday unveiled what they said were the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus.
The find could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy.
The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of about 50 houses on a patch of about 1.6 hectares.
It was populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottoes to hide from Roman invaders, said archeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a "simple Jewish family," Alexandre said, as workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.
Special place
Nazareth holds a cherished place in Christianity. It is believed to be the town where Christian tradition says Jesus grew up and where an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God.
"This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with," Alexandre said.
A young Jesus may have played around the house with cousins and friends, she said. "It's a logical suggestion."
The discovery so close to Christmas has pleased local Christians.
"They say if the people do not speak, the stones will speak," said a smiling Father Jack Karam of the nearby Basilica of the Annunciation, the site where Christian tradition says Mary received the angel's word.
Alexandre said workers uncovered the first signs of the dwelling in the summer, but it became clear only this month that it was a structure from the era of Jesus.
Water system
Alexandre's team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just meters away from the Basilica.
It is not clear how big the dwelling is - Alexandre's team has uncovered about 85 square meters of the house, but it may have been for an extended family and could be much larger, she said.
Alexandre said her team also found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto.
However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth's Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value.
At the site, Alexandre told reporters that archeologists found clay and chalk vessels. The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.
The shards date back to the time of Jesus, she said.
The determination was made by comparing the findings to shards and remains in other parts of Galilee typical of that period.
The find could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy.
The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of about 50 houses on a patch of about 1.6 hectares.
It was populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottoes to hide from Roman invaders, said archeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a "simple Jewish family," Alexandre said, as workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.
Special place
Nazareth holds a cherished place in Christianity. It is believed to be the town where Christian tradition says Jesus grew up and where an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God.
"This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with," Alexandre said.
A young Jesus may have played around the house with cousins and friends, she said. "It's a logical suggestion."
The discovery so close to Christmas has pleased local Christians.
"They say if the people do not speak, the stones will speak," said a smiling Father Jack Karam of the nearby Basilica of the Annunciation, the site where Christian tradition says Mary received the angel's word.
Alexandre said workers uncovered the first signs of the dwelling in the summer, but it became clear only this month that it was a structure from the era of Jesus.
Water system
Alexandre's team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just meters away from the Basilica.
It is not clear how big the dwelling is - Alexandre's team has uncovered about 85 square meters of the house, but it may have been for an extended family and could be much larger, she said.
Alexandre said her team also found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto.
However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth's Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value.
At the site, Alexandre told reporters that archeologists found clay and chalk vessels. The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.
The shards date back to the time of Jesus, she said.
The determination was made by comparing the findings to shards and remains in other parts of Galilee typical of that period.
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