# Lifestyles & Discussion > Peace Through Religion >  Christianity's Ancient Church Houses

## TER

For the students of history and the faithful in Christ who wish to grow closer to God in truth and in communion, this thread is to discuss the early Christian places for fellowship and worship, namely what historians call 'church houses' which were the primitive and earliest gatherings of the believers of Christ.

May it enlighten those who wish to learn the truth and silence those who fight against it.

Taken from *this* website.



*Iconography in Ancient House Churches*
January 14, 2014 by Gabe Martini




I have recently written about the archaeological discoveries of ancient Christian house churches in the middle east.

In that piece, I discussed how the manuscripts found at these sites shows us that a central practice within these early church communities was the sacrificial mystery of the holy Eucharist (along with baptism), and very much in a way that is consonant with later Eucharistic rites of the fourth century, as well as the rites described in the first-century Didache. I also alluded briefly to the iconographic frescoes in these churches (both at Megiddo and Dura Europos), but Id like to dive into that aspect a little further.

Up until the late-19th century, it was a common polemic of Protestant apologists (against both Rome and the Orthodox Church) that the veneration given to saints was a late innovation and even degradation of the faith (perhaps as late as the fifth or sixth century). Not only this, but it was an established presumption that Judaism (in this case, Second Temple Judaism, as at the time of Christ and hisapostles) was wholly iconoclastic, and that it would be impossible to imagine how the early Christians could have ever developed an iconographic tradition, as a resultgiven both their heritage and dependence upon the Judaism prior to Christianity.

However, there is now an abundance of evidence to the contrary, beyond the pale of the Orthodox-Catholic tradition.

From the standpoint of popular traditions, most are aware of the Icon Made Without Hands that the Lord imprinted into a cloth and gave to King Abgar of Edessa (reigned A.D. 1350) of the Osroene Kingdom. There is also the tradition of Luke the Physician painting the first icon of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary) and the infant Jesus (the Hodegetria, which is currently enshrined at a church on Mount Athos). Eusebius of Cæsarea even wrote about the existence of icons and statues of Christ, which had existed well before his time (A.D. 263-329): Eusebius tells of a statue said to be that of Christ which existed in Palestine, and did not think it strange. He had heard too of portraits of Peter and Paul (The Orthodox Liturgy, p. 23).

Speaking of the portraits of saints, Wybrew also notes:

_ It is quite probable that Christians began painting portraits of distinguished and venerated members of the Church very early on. The Apocryphal Acts of John tell of a portrait of the Apostle which one of his disciples, Lycomedes, commissioned from an artist friend. Lycomedes put it in his bedroom, and adorned it with flowers._

Besides basic portraiture, the funerary art tradition in the early Church is easily demonstrated in the Roman catacombs.

_ There is little doubt that Christians followed contemporary practice in having funerary portraits painted of distinguished church members . . . and perhaps as early as the third century, Christian images were venerated by being garlanded with flowers and having lights burnt in front of them._
But what about the supposed iconoclasm of Judaism? Wouldnt this have prohibited the advent of both iconography and statuary among the early Christians?

On the contrary, and in agreement with the traditions of the Church, Judaism of this time was emphatically not iconoclastic, nor was Judaism itself ever really monolithic with respect to many key beliefs. Indeed, there have been some rather important archaeological discoveries in the past century or so that have debunked this position entirely.

If one is being honest about the witness of the holy scriptures, we must admit that there are several approving commandments related to the creation of iconography and even statuary in the old testament. Both the tabernacle and temple were adorned with a multitude of images, both two- and three-dimensional, which depicted everything from angels to pomegranatesthe priest would prostrate himself before these images and statues, no less. The temple was filled with a glorious array of colors and images, with theological symbolism underlying it all. And with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, this more symbolic iconography transitioned to a more Christian or incarnational pattern (1 John 1:13), with the image of Christ, the saints, and his holy Mother.

The Christian house church (and synagogue) discovered at Dura Europos (ca. A.D. 235) are about as explicit as can be when it comes to demonstratingin an historical and archaeological mannerthe existence of iconography within both Jewish and Christian architecture of the post-resurrection era; and importantly, in both cases being in the context of places of worship.

please read the rest here...

*Here is what a JEWISH SYNAGOGUE looked like at that time:*







*

Here is what a CHRISTIAN HOUSE CHURCH looked at that time:*


*Jesus healing the paralytic*

*Jesus saving Peter on the water*

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## TER

*The Eucharistic Liturgy in Ancient House Churches*
January 13, 2014 by Gabe Martini



Many evangelical groups today are proposing that we abandon traditional models of doing the Church, instead replacing that presumed stodginess with what isthey claima more New Testament model: the house church or cell church models.

Essentially, they are promoting that the local church be a de-centralized assembly, meeting in the homes of various individuals and proportionally scattered throughout a city (or town or region). The presumption is that this is the Biblical model for both fellowship and discipleship, derived from the New Testament itself.

While we certainly read of house Churches in the New Testament (e.g. 1 Cor. 1:11,16; Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15), usually being the homes of wealthy individuals with enough room for a large assembly of people, the house/cell churches of the modern day do not actually resemble the worship or piety associated with such New Testament prototypes.

Additionally, the house Churches of the New Testament developed into the basilicas of the post-Constantine Roman empire, when the faith was no longer forced underground as a result of both imperial and Judaic persecution. The same elements present in the earlier house Churches found their way into the more established basilicas and temples of the fourth century and beyondthey were just given a newer and freer context within which to thrive.


Two distinct features of the most ancient house churchesand in fact, of the most ancient churches that archaeology has unveiledare that of the baptistry and the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice...

please read the rest here.

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## TER

*Church house discovered in Dura Europas, Syria*

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## Natural Citizen

Hm. Cool thread, TER.

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## TER

Glad you like it!    I think it brings a nice perspective on how the earliest Christians gathered and worshiped, (and personally, I find archeology fascinating) !!

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## eduardo89

Fascinating thread, thanks TER!

Greetings from Puerto Rico

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## TER

> Fascinating thread, thanks TER!
> 
> Greetings from Puerto Rico


Have fun!  One of my most relaxing vacations was in Puerto Rico!  Of course, me and my wife did not have any kids at the time!  lol

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## Natural Citizen

> Glad you like it!    I think it brings a nice perspective on how the earliest Christians gathered and worshiped, (and personally, I find archeology fascinating) !!


Yep. Me too. I have a Archeology thread in the science and tech section here but predates Christianity. Although it teeters. Anyhoo...I'll have to keep an eye on this one.

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## tod evans

Big fan of the architecture in the European cathedrals here, hope to travel some day and experience them in person..

Cool thread TER!

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## TER

> Big fan of the architecture in the European cathedrals here, hope to travel some day and experience them in person..


When I spent a summer backpacking through Europe many moons ago, I visited several of them.  I was too young and immature (and frankly intoxicated!) to really appreciate the beauty and grandeur of these magnificent works of architecture.  One day I hope I can go back and experience them again with these older (and more sober) eyes. lol

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## heavenlyboy34

Love this thread.  ~hugs brothers TER and eduardo~

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## eduardo89

> When I spent a summer backpacking through Europe many moons ago, I visited several of them.  I was too young and immature (and frankly intoxicated!) to really appreciate the beauty and grandeur of these magnificent works of architecture.  One day I hope I can go back and experience them again with these older (and more sober) eyes. lol


I've been fascinated by church architecture since even before I can remember. For my entire childhood my family would go to Europe the entire summer and we'd rent a car and drive around the continent. We'd visit every single church we could find, even in the smallest of towns. Those are some of my fondest memories from my childhood.

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## TER

> I've been fascinated by church architecture since even before I can remember. For my entire childhood my family would go to Europe the entire summer and we'd rent a car and drive around the continent. We'd visit every single church we could find, even in the smallest of towns. Those are some of my fondest memories from my childhood.


And there is something to be said about the small churches!  Some of the most awe-inspiring and spiritually touching experiences I have had have been in little Christian unassuming churches on mountaintops in Greece.  (for some background info, the highest mountain peak of every inhabited - and several uninhabited - island in Greece has a Christian church dedicated in honor of the Prophet Elijah, and once a year on the Saint's Day of the Prophet Elijah, pilgrims journey up the mountain for Divine Liturgy)

Here are are few examples:



You can see the small church high on the mountain...



the one below is the top of Mount Olympus (you can barely see it...)



and then to climb to top and find a small, humble place of worship...



There is something to be said about trekking/hiking up a mountainside for half a day, ascending into the heavens, and then entering a small one-roomed church in the peaceful serenity of the summit and meeting the image of our Lord upon a wall in remembrance and sacred silence.  It is as if you have met God Himself in those moments and are surrounded by angels.

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## TER

...

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## TER

*Early Christian Worship and the Bones of Martyrs*
January 16, 2014 by Gabe Martini


read original article here


In the Apostles Creed (an early Roman baptismal statement of faith) a person confesses belief in the communion of saints. While this creed is not widely used in the East, it is important that we understand the communion of saints as a matter of both ontology and incarnationit is related to the essence or being of the Church itself as the true Body of Christ.

In other words, when we speak of the communion of saints, we really mean it. It is something both experienced and felt. Beyond theory or doctrinal speculation, the communion of saints is about incarnational, actual, and true relations between the Christians on earth and those reposed in the Lord.

In Christ and through the Holy Spirit, we are all dwelling in unity across space and time, and this is most apparent and fully realized in the celebration of the holy Eucharist. Not only are we partaking of the true Body of Christ in the Eucharist, but we are also ourselves being transformed into the true Body of Christ, the Church, by that participation.

In the veneration of both icons and relics, we experience the union these great men and women shared with Christ on earth decades or even centuries agoa unity that transcends time and continues through eternity. Christ unites himself to us, both body and soul, and the bones of martyrs shine with the uncreated grace of God while their souls are at rest, working miracles even after their death (2 Kings [4 Reigns LXX] 13:21; Acts 5:15 & 19:12). This piety is ancient, and it is demonstrated already in the earliest days of the Church.

For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the apostle John, was martyred in the city of Rome near the end of the first century (ca. A.D. 98). For his faith, and especially as a bishop, he was thrown to lions in front of a cheering crowd. In the hagiography written by his disciples, it is recorded:
*
    [O]nly the harder portions of his holy remains were left, which were conveyed to Antioch and wrapped in linen, as an inestimable treasure left to the holy Church by the grace which was in the martyr. Now these things took place on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of January, that is, on the twentieth of December.* The Martyrdom of Ignatius, chs. 67

The Christians in Rome who witness his execution gather his bodily remains, which they then take away for his flock in Antioch. The relics of Ignatius are treasured because of the grace which was in the martyr, and miracles are attributed to his fervent intercessions soon after. Again, this took place at the end of the first (or beginning of the second) century. Ever since, the Church has venerated St. Ignatius on the 20th of December, the day of his martyrdom.

Another early saint of note is Polycarp, also a disciple of John (ca. A.D. 69155). The beloved apostle appoints Polycarp as bishop of Smyrna, and he too would die a martyr. For the sake of our present discussion, it is on his lifeand not his deaththat I wish to focus. In the Life of Polycarp (ch. 20), the martyrdom of another Christian is mentioned:

*    So having taken the body of the blessed [martyr] Bucolus to Smyrna to the cemetery in front of the Ephesian Royal gateplacing it where recently a myrtle tree had sprung up after the burial of the body of Thraseas the Martyrwhen all was over, they offered bread [the Eucharist] for Bucolus and the rest.*

Note the miraculous myrtle tree, growing immediately from the place where another martyr Thraseas had been buried. In his edition of this hagiography (p. 150), Alistair Stewart-Sykes notes that the body of Thraseas was actually taken from the place of his initial burial to the cemetery in Smyrnathe first recorded example of the translation of a saints relics. The translation of relics is an important event in the life of a Saint still commemorated by the Church. The most recent example of note would be the Vaticans return of the relics of Ss. John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian back to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2004. These relics were stolen during the Fourth Crusade.

Here also is an early example of the celebration of the Eucharist upon the tomb of a martyr. A related practice was the depositio ad sanctos, or the burying of a reposed Christian adjacent to the relics of a martyred saint, showing reverence for the holiness of even the dirt surrounding their bones (The Cult of the Saints, p. 11). Shrines were built for the relics of martyrs, and liturgies were offered in their presence on at least an annual basis; typically, on the anniversary of their martyrdom. This was being done by as early as the second century (e.g. Tertullian, On Exhortation to Chastity 11; cf. St. Augustine, Confessions 6.2.2).

It soon was common for new churches to be built either over the translated relics of a saint, or at the very place they had once been martyred. The altar itself was consecrated with the bones of saints, or was in actuality the martyrs stone tomb. This was seen by many in the early Church as a fulfillment of the Apocalypse: When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne (Rev. 6:9).

This early practice of celebrating the Eucharist over the bones of martyrs is later codified by Canon 7 of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (A.D. 787), where it is dictated that a church building should not be consecrated without the relics of a Saint:

*VII.* That to churches consecrated without any deposit of the relics of the Saints, the defect should be made good.

    Paul the divine Apostle says: The sins of some are open beforehand, and some they follow after. These are their primary sins, and other sins follow these. Accordingly upon the heels of the heresy of the traducers of the Christians, there followed close other ungodliness. For as they took out of the churches the presence of the venerable images, so likewise they cast aside other customs which we must now revive and maintain in accordance with the written and unwritten law. We decree therefore that relics shall be placed with the accustomed service in as many of the sacred temples as have been consecrated without the relics of the Martyrs. And if any bishop from this time forward is found consecrating a temple without holy relics, he shall be deposed, as a transgressor of the ecclesiastical traditions.
Before falling away, Tertullian of Carthage wrote in a brief defense of the Christian faith (Apologeticum, ca. 197):

_ We are not a new philosophy but a divine revelation. Thats why you cant just exterminate us; the more you kill, the more we are. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church._

In a very real and substantial sense, it is the blood and bones of the martyrs that has built our holy Church, and these words could not ring more true. After all, Christ himself is the true and faithful Martyr (Rev. 1:5).

Of our Church, the apostles and prophets are the foundation, while Christ himself is both Head and cornerstone (Eph. 2:20 & 5:23). Not only do we benefit from their example of faith in imitation of Christ, but we also communicate with them in his one, true Body. We partake of one another, and the grace of the Holy Spirit binds us together. The whole loaf is made to rise by the leaven of their individual sacrifice and by their continued intercessions in the throne room of God.

While true worship is offered to the Trinity alone, we make it a point to honor the Saints. They surround us in worship as a great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1)as a great cloud of martyrs (witness is the same word as martyr in Greek)praying that we too could endure to the end, and be saved. When temptation comes, their bones and their blood cries out from across eternity: deliver us from evil.

And for some, as it was for those martyrs before us, that deliverance from evil is straight into the waiting arms of Christ.

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## TER

*The House of Peter: The Home of Jesus in Capernaum?*
*How the remnants of the humble dwelling of Jesus in Capernaum illuminate how Christianity began*



Beneath the foundations of this octagonal Byzantine martyrium church at Capernaum, 
archaeologists made one of the most exciting Biblical archaeology discoveries: 
a simple first-century A.D. home that may have been the house of Peter, 
the home of Jesus in Capernaum. Photo: Garo Nalbandian
Biblical Archaeology Society Staff     03/29/2011



For much of his adult life, Jesus resided in the small fishing village of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. It was here during the infancy of early Christianity that he began his ministry in the town synagogue (Mark 1:21), recruited his first disciples (Mark 1:1620) and became renowned for his power to heal the sick and infirm (Mark 3:15).

Early travelers to the site had long recognized the beautifully preserved remains of the ancient synagogue that many believe marked the site, if not the actual building, of Jesus earliest teaching. But an important detail of how Christianity began still remained: Where in the town had Jesus actually lived? Where was the house of Peter, which the Bible suggests was the home of Jesus in Capernaum (Matthew 8:1416)?

Italian excavators working in Capernaum may have actually uncovered the remnants of the humble house of Peter that Jesus called home while in Capernaum. (This house of Peter was one of the first Biblical archaeology discoveries reported in BAR more than 25 years ago.)

Buried beneath the remains of an octagonal Byzantine martyrium church, excavators found the ruins of a rather mundane dwelling dating to the first century B.C.

Although slightly larger than most, the house was simple, with coarse walls and a roof of earth and straw. Like most early Roman-period houses, it consisted of a few small rooms clustered around two open courtyards. Despite later proving to be one of the most exciting Biblical archaeology discoveries, the house appeared quite ordinary. According to the excavators, however, it is what happened to the house after the middle of the first century A.D. that marked it as exceptional and most likely the house of Peter, the home of Jesus in Capernaum.
*
In the years immediately following Jesus death, the function of the house changed dramatically. The houses main room was completely plastered over from floor to ceilinga rarity for houses of the day. At about the same time, the houses pottery, which had previously been household cooking pots and bowls, now consisted entirely of large storage jars and oil lamps. Such radical alterations indicate that the house no longer functioned as a residence but instead had become a place for communal gatherings, possibly even the first christian gatherings, a key factor in how Christianity began.* As with many Biblical archeology discoveries, often the small details most convincingly tie ancient material remains to Biblical events and characters.

For instance, the excavators found that during the ensuing centuries, the plastered room from the original house had been renovated and converted into the central hall of a rudimentary church. The rooms old stone walls were buttressed by a newly built two-story arch that, in turn, supported a new stone roof. The room was even replastered and painted over with floral and geometric designs of various colors.

The buildings key role in understanding how Christianity began was confirmed by more than a hundred graffiti scratched into the churchs walls. Most of the inscriptions say things like Lord Jesus Christ help thy servant or Christ have mercy. They are written in Greek, Syriac or Hebrew and are sometimes accompanied by etchings of small crosses or, in one case, a boat. The excavators claim that the name of Peter is mentioned in several graffiti, although many scholars now dispute these readings.

This simple church building, helpful in determining how Christianity began, survived for more than 300 years before it was finally replaced in the fifth century by a well-built octagonal martyrium church. Octagonal martyria were built to commemorate an important site, such as the original house of Peter that once stood here. The inner sanctum of the octagonal building was built directly above the remains of the very room of the first-century house that had formed the central hall of the earlier church.

Biblical archaeology discoveries are not cut-and-dry cases. Though there is no definitive proof in this instance that the house ruin uncovered by the excavators actually is the ancient house of Peter, there is layer upon layer of circumstantial evidence to support its importance in early Christianity and its association with Jesus in Capernaum and his foremost disciple, Peter. Were it not for its association with Jesus and Peter, why else would a run-of-the-mill first-century house in Capernaum have become a focal point of Christian worship and identity for centuries to come?

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## TER

*Tomb of Apostle Philip Found*
Discovery made at Hierapolis, one of the major Christian sites in Turkey
Biblical Archaeology Society Staff     01/04/2012



_Amid the remains of a fourth or fifth century church at Hierapolis, 
one of the most significant Christian sites in Turkey,
 Francesco DAndria found this first-century Roman tomb that he believes
 once held the remains of the apostle Philip._
At about the same time as the July/August 2011 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review was hitting the newsstands, containing an article about St. Philips Martyrium,* author and excavation director Francesco DAndria was making an exciting new discovery in the field at Hierapolis, one of the most significant sites in Christian Turkey. A month later he announced it: They had finally found the tomb of the martyred apostle Philip.

The tomb wasnt discovered at the center of the octagonal hilltop martyrium as long expected, however, but in a newly excavated church about 40 yards away. DAndrias team found a first-century Roman tomb located at the center of the new church, which he says originally contained Philips remains. This early church of Christian Turkey was built around the tomb in the fourth or fifth century, and the nearby martyrium was built around the same time, in the early fifth century.



The remains of the apostle Philip are no longer in the tomb, however. According to DAndria, the saints relics were very likely moved from Hierapolis to Constantinople at the end of the sixth century and then possibly taken to Rome and placed in the newly dedicated Church of St. Philip and St. John (now the Church of the Holy Apostles), although 12th-century reports describe seeing Philips remains still in Constantinople, the seat of Christian Turkey.

_
This sixth-century bread stamp shows two churches from the site of Hierapolis in Christian Turkey: 
the domed martyrium on the right, and the newly-discovered church containing Philips tomb on the left._

This new discovery also sheds light on the wonderful imagery of the rare sixth-century bronze bread stamp from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts that we published in our article about Philips Martyrium. The structures on either side of the saint can now be identified as the domed martyrium (on the right) and the new Byzantine basilical church containing the tomb of the apostle Philip (on the left), both of which were important Christian sites in Turkey.

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## TER

*The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Healed the Blind Man*
A sacred Christian site identified by archaeologists
Biblical Archaeology Society Staff     05/25/2011



_In 2004, the stepped remains of the ancient Siloam Pool, long thought to be located elsewhere, 
were uncovered near the City of David. According to the Gospel of John, it was at this sacred Christian site that Jesus healed the blind man. 
Photo: Todd Bolen/bibleplaces.com
_


The Siloam Pool has long been considered a sacred Christian site, even if the correct identification of the site itself was uncertain. According to the Gospel of John, it was at the Siloam Pool where Jesus healed the blind man (John 9:111).

Traditionally, the Christian site of the Siloam Pool was the pool and church that were built by the Byzantine empress Eudocia (c. 400460 A.D.) to commemorate the miracle recounted in the New Testament. However, the exact location of the original pool as it existed during the time of Jesus remained a mystery until June 2004.


During construction work to repair a large water pipe south of Jerusalems Temple Mount, at the southern end of the ridge known as the City of David, archaeologists Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron identified two ancient stone steps. Further excavation revealed that they were part of a monumental pool from the Second Temple period, the period in which Jesus lived. The structure Reich and Shukron discovered was 225 feet long, with corners that are slightly greater than 90 degrees, indicating a trapezoidal shape, with the widening end oriented toward Tyropoeon valley.

The Siloam pool is adjacent to the area in the ancient City of David known as the Kings Garden and is just southeast of the remains of the fifth-century church and pool traditionally believed to be the sacred Christian site.


_
Artists rendering of the Siloam pool, the Biblical Christian site where Jesus healed the blind man. Photo: Jason Clarke_


What was the function of the Siloam pool during Jesus time? Because the pool is fed by waters from the Gihon Spring, located in the Kidron Valley,  the naturally flowing spring water would have qualified the pool for use as a mikveh for ritual bathing. However, it could also have been an important source of fresh water for the inhabitants on that part of the city. One scholar has even suggested that it was a Roman-style swimming pool. Whatever its original purpose, the Siloam pool where Jesus healed the blind man is an important Christian site, and its discovery represents a watershed moment in the field of Biblical archaeology.

As with many sites in the Holy Land, the origins of the Siloam Pool reach back even further in historyat least seven centuries before the time of Jesus. Judahs King Hezekiah (late eighth century B.C.) correctly anticipated a siege against Jerusalem by the Assyrian monarch Sennacherib.

To protect the citys water supply during the siege, Hezekiah undertook a strategic engineering project that would be an impressive feat in any age: He ordered the digging of a 1,750-foot tunnel under the City of David to bring water from the Gihon Spring, which lay outside the city wall, inside the city to a pool on the opposite side of the ridge. In the years that followed, Hezekiahs Tunnel continued to carry fresh water to this section of Jerusalem, and different pools were built here over the centuries, including the Second Temple pool that Jesus knew.

*    *    *
They also found remains of a Byzantine church, which was partly built on the stairway and partly into the northern part of the pool. Here is a reconstruction drawing of the Byzantine church:

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## TER

*“Relics” Associated with John the Baptist Dated to the First Century C.E.*



_Oxford University research affirms a first century C.E. date for these bones, which have been claimed to be relics of John the Baptist. (Oxford University)_
Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  06/15/2012


In 2010, archaeologist Kazimir Popkonstantiv discovered a bone box while excavating the Sveti Ivan (St. John) church on an island in Bulgaria. Found alongside ancient Greek inscriptions mentioning John the Baptist, the box contained six human bones that have been considered possible relics of the Saint. New research, published on June 15, 2012 by Oxford University,* examines evidence from the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit to indicate that the bones do, in fact, date to the first century C.E. Moreover, additional research conducted at the University of Copenhagen indicates that the bones are from the same individual, and the DNA (mtDNA haplotype) suggests he was likely a male from the Middle East. Oxford and Copenhagen researchers have explicitly stated that there is no definitive connection to John the Baptist; however, they were surprised to see the antiquity of bones that historical records associate with the Baptist.
Bones

Biblical and historical accounts say that John the Baptist, who is referenced as a relative of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke and a leading prophet who baptized Jesus, was beheaded by Herod Antipas, likely at the Jordanian citadel Machaerus. The discovery of an ancient Greek inscription on a tuff box referencing John the Baptist and asking God to “help your servant Thomas” led Bulgarian researchers to believe that the relics arrived in Bulgaria from Antioch, where some of the Baptist’s bones were held until the tenth century C.E. The waterproof tuff box, likely carried by this “Thomas,” likely originated in eastern Turkey.

Oxford University’s Georges Kazan explored historical documents for a different account of how the relics may have reached the Sveti Ivan church. According to Kazan, in the fourth century C.E., monks took relics of John the Baptist’s from Jerusalem to Constantinople. In the Oxford report (see link below), Dr. Kazan states “’My research suggests that during the fifth or early sixth century, the monastery of Sveti Ivan may well have received a significant portion of St John the Baptist’s relics, as well as a prestige reliquary in the shape of a sarcophagus, from a member of Constantinople’s elite. This gift could have been to dedicate or rededicate the church and the monastery to St John, which the patron or patrons may have supported financially.”

The confirmed date of a knucklebone is far from final proof that the Bulgarian bones belonged to John the Baptist. A conclusive association between supposed relics and their Saint is impossible to establish; however, the research conducted by Oxford’s Tom Higham and Christopher Ramsey does prove that the “relics” have a better case for authenticity than previously imagined.

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## TER

*Byzantine Church Found In Israel May Be Tomb of Prophet Zechariah* 
Matti Friedman
February 2, 2011
Associated Press


Israeli archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills on Wednesday, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.

The Byzantine church located southwest of Jerusalem, excavated over the last two months, will be visible only for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil for its own protection.

The small basilica with an exquisitely decorated floor was active between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D., said the dig's leader, Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. He said the floor was "one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel in recent years."

"It is unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation," he said.

Archaeologists began digging at the site, known as Hirbet Madras, in December. The Antiquities Authority discovered several months earlier that antiquities thieves had begun plundering the ruins, which sit on an uninhabited hill not far from an Israeli farming community.

Though an initial survey suggested the building was a synagogue, the excavation revealed stones carved with crosses, identifying it as a church. The building had been built atop another structure around 500 years older, dating to Roman times, when scholars believe the settlement was inhabited by Jews.

Hewn into the rock underneath that structure is a network of tunnels that archaeologists believe were used by Jewish rebels fighting Roman armies in the second century A.D.

Stone steps lead down from the floor of church to a small burial cave, which scholars suggest might have been venerated as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Zachariah.

Ganor said the church would remain covered until funding was obtained to open it as a tourist site.

Israel boasts an exceptionally high concentration of archaeological sites, including Crusader, Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, ancient Jewish and prehistoric ruins.

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## TER

*The Cave of Saint John the Baptist in Tzuba* 


The cave of St. John the Baptist is a relatively new place of pilgrimage in the Holy Land  Israel. Many archaeologists have researched the place and its data for its authenticity. Archaeologist Shimon Gibson is the one who discovered the place and also the one supporting its authenticity.

Shimon Gibson discovered the place in 1999, through extensive archaeological research. To get here, pilgrims can take the bus from Jerusalem to Ein Karem and the holy cave is about four kilometers from Ein Karem in Tzuba.


St. John the Baptist  the last prophet of the Old Testament  had a divine mission hard to imagine: he, the servant of God, had to baptize his Master, Jesus Christ. But until the time of the Baptism of our Lord, St. John had lived an unspeakable ascetic struggle in the wilderness.

The Gospel does not tell us much about the life of Saint John. The Gospel of Luke, however, referring to St. John, says: The child grew up and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel (Luke 1:80).


It is believed that the Cave of St. John the Baptist is a place in the wilderness where the saint lived up to the time of his preaching and the baptism of our Lord. The rocky place that still preserves today the ancient cave, is in the land of Tzuba, which is the nearest settlement to the famous Ein Karem (the place where St. John the Baptist was born), slightly west of Jerusalem.

In a legend about this place, it is said that Elisabeth had fled with baby John, the night when crazy King Herod ordered the killing of all infants from his land, two years and younger (Matthew 2:16). A cave similar to this one was portrayed on a souvenir from the Byzantine era that was found in the Holy Land and brought later to Italy; it is a disc engraved with a picture and the words: Gods blessings for the refuge of St. Elizabeth.


In mid 4th-5th centuries, the Byzantine monks blessed the cave and used it as a holy place dedicated to St. John the Baptist. On the interior walls of the cave are found some of the oldest Christian mosaics (scenes from the life of the saint, the saint's body, a disembodied head, crosses, and other Christian symbols).

The man is portrayed standing, with one arm raised and a pastor rod in another hand, wearing very poor clothes. The hagiography drawings still preserved today on the rocky walls of the cave, indicate that a great Christian preacher lived there, which is believed to be St. John the Baptist.


In the 800s, the cave was first used as a water storage tank. It was found as late as the first century, that the cave was used as a place of ritual bathing and cleaning. This is one of the largest of its kind in the entire Israel.

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## TER

*Archaeologists Find Evidence of St. Peter's Prison* 


June, 25 2010
Telegraph

Archaeologists have discovered evidence to support the theory that St Peter was imprisoned in an underground dungeon by the Emperor Nero before being crucified.

The Mamertine Prison, a dingy complex of cells which now lies beneath a Renaissance church, has long been venerated as the place where the apostle was shackled before he was killed on the spot on which the Vatican now stands.

It been a place of Christian worship since medieval times, but after months of excavations, Italian archaeologists have found frescoes and other evidence which indicate that it was associated with St Peter as early as the 7th century.

Dr Patrizia Fortini, of Rome's department of archaeology for Rome, said: "It was converted from being a prison into a focus of cult-like worship of St Peter by the 7th century at the latest, maybe earlier.

"It was a very rapid transformation. We think that by the 8th century, it was being used as a church. It would have been wonderful to find a document with his [St Peter's] name on it, but of course that was always going to be extremely unlikely."

St Peter and St Paul are said to have been incarcerated in the jail by the Emperor Nero.

The two apostles are said to have caused an underground spring to miraculously rise up from the ground so that they could baptise their guards and their fellow prisoners.

Peter was then crucified, upside down, in AD64. He was buried on a low hill on which, 250 years later, the Emperor Constantine built the first Basilica of St Peter.

The hellish prison in which the founder of the Roman Church supposedly spent his final days consisted of two levels of cells, one on top of each other.

The lower cell could only be reached through a hole in its roof and was purportedly where the Romans imprisoned their most formidable enemies, including a Gaulish chieftain, Vercingetorix, who had fought against Caesar in 52BC.

Some prisoners starved to death and their bodies were tossed into the Cloaca Maxima, the city's main sewer.

In the 17th century a church St Joseph of the Carpenters was built over the Mamertine Prison and it still stands today, overlooking the ruins of the Roman Forum.

Its exterior bears the words "The Prison of the Apostolic Saints Peter and Paul" and a marble carving of the two bearded martyrs peering glumly through prison bars.

When Charles Dickens visited the site in the 19th century he described "the dread and gloom of the ponderous, obdurate old prison".

Hanging on the walls he found "rusty daggers, knives, pistols, clubs, divers instruments of violence and murder brought here fresh from use".

Historians have long believed the dungeon was built in the 5th century BC, under Servius Tullius, one of the kings of Rome before it became a republic.

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## TER

*Conversion: Ancient Prison Went From Pagan To Sacred Christian Site*


July, 31 2010
Catholic News Service

Tradition holds that St. Peter was jailed in Rome's maximum security Mamertine Prison before he was crucified upside down and buried on the hill where St. Peter's Basilica was later built.

And now after recent excavations in Rome's oldest prison, archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence that, while not providing direct proof, does support that belief.

The prison, which lies beneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters facing the Roman Forum, was closed for the past year as experts dug up old floors and picked away plaster.

They found and restored a 14th-century fresco of Jesus with his arm around a smiling St. Peter and an 11th-century fresco of Jesus with the oldest known image of the Campidoglio, Rome's city hall, behind him.

Patrizia Fortini from the city of Rome's department of archaeological heritage led the excavation and restoration project. She told journalists July 27 they found proof that the site had been a place for venerating St. Peter by the seventh century, lending support to historical accounts that he had been incarcerated there.

The prison has two levels: the upper chamber called the "Carcer" and the lower chamber called the "Tullianum," which was built in the sixth century B.C.

In the Tullianum, Fortini said, they found "traces of a basin that must have been where water was collected -- water which, according to tradition, sprang forth after St. Peter pounded on the stone floor."

Tradition holds that after he miraculously made the water gush forth, he converted and baptized his two prison guards as well as 47 others while he was imprisoned there.

Near the basin, archaeologists found a trough which, centuries later, the faithful may have used to sprinkle themselves with water, she said.

The stone walls had been painted, she said, but time and humidity took their toll.

There is only one small fresco left in a dark corner under the stairs. The ninth-century image, discovered in 2000, shows the outline of the hand of God emerging from a white cloud as he points down toward Earth.

A portion of the marble column, which tradition says Sts. Peter and Paul were chained to, stands next to a simple altar.

One of the most interesting finds, Fortini said, was discovering what the Tullianum had been used for in pre-Christian, pagan Rome.

Experts removed old brick and wooden floors, digging down to the original stone floor.

Scholars had believed the domed prison was a cistern or a monumentalized fountain of sorts. Instead, Fortini said it had been "an ancient place of worship" specifically devoted to a water divinity such as "a nymph of underground water."

They found ancient remnants of votive offerings to the deity, things such as small burned animal bones and floral or vegetable matter dating from between the fifth and third centuries B.C.

From the ancient pagan Romans to early Christians, "this place was always venerated. It never lost its sacredness," Fortini said.

It may seem odd, however, that the ancient Romans took a sacred pagan spot for venerating the life-giving and healing powers of water and turned it into a dungeon.

Fortini said the underground water spring also conjured up many negative and dangerous scenarios. For example, in pagan Rome it was thought the spring provided a direct channel to the netherworld, she said.

Archaeologists found an ancient borehole going 5 feet into the ground. The borehole "put the inhabited world into contact with the underworld and, therefore, there was the possibility of having contact with the beyond somehow," she said.

Enemies of the Roman Empire were thrown into the watery pit of the Tullianium through a hole in the upper chamber of the Carcer. Romans believed the prisoners would then be carried away or just disappear into the netherworld -- a fate worse than death, she said.

The structure was used a prison until the fourth century, when Pope Sylvester I officially made it place of worship and named it "San Pietro in Carcere" (St. Peter in Prison) in 314.

The Church of St. Joseph was built atop the former prison complex in 1598.

The project to study and restore the Mamertine Prison was a cooperative effort of Rome's department of archaeological heritage, the Rome diocesan Committee for Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage and the diocesan-related travel agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.

After the Mamertine Prison reopened to the public at the end of June, the Opera Romana incorporated it into a new tour called "Roma Cristiana Experience," which was presented to journalists July 27.

Pilgrims hop on a methane gas-powered minibus leaving St. Peter's Square every 20 minutes and take a scenic route through Rome to the Mamertine Prison for a tour.

The tour is meant to help people deepen their faith and recognize the site's spiritual heritage: its successive conversion from being a sacred pagan spring, to being a dank place of suffering and death, and finally, after St. Peter made the waters pour forth, to becoming a place of renewal and rebirth.

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## TER

*More On Ancient Prison Went From Pagan To Sacred Christian Site*


August, 06 2010
The Pilot

Tradition holds that St. Peter was jailed in Rome's maximum security Mamertine Prison before he was crucified upside down and buried on the hill where St. Peter's Basilica was later built.

And now after recent excavations in Rome's oldest prison, archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence that, while not providing direct proof, does support that belief.

The prison, which lies beneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters facing the Roman Forum, was closed for the past year as experts dug up old floors and picked away plaster.

They found and restored a 14th-century fresco of Jesus with his arm around a smiling St. Peter and an 11th-century fresco of Jesus with the oldest known image of the Campidoglio, Rome's city hall, behind him.

Patrizia Fortini from the city of Rome's department of archaeological heritage led the excavation and restoration project. She told journalists July 27 they found proof that the site had been a place for venerating St. Peter by the seventh century, lending support to historical accounts that he had been incarcerated there.

The prison has two levels: the upper chamber called the "Carcer" and the lower chamber called the "Tullianum," which was built in the sixth century B.C.

In the Tullianum, Fortini said, they found "traces of a basin that must have been where water was collected -- water which, according to tradition, sprang forth after St. Peter pounded on the stone floor."

Tradition holds that after he miraculously made the water gush forth, he converted and baptized his two prison guards as well as 47 others while he was imprisoned there.

Near the basin, archaeologists found a trough which, centuries later, the faithful may have used to sprinkle themselves with water, she said.

The stone walls had been painted, she said, but time and humidity took their toll.

There is only one small fresco left in a dark corner under the stairs. The ninth-century image, discovered in 2000, shows the outline of the hand of God emerging from a white cloud as he points down toward Earth.

A portion of the marble column, which tradition says Sts. Peter and Paul were chained to, stands next to a simple altar.

One of the most interesting finds, Fortini said, was discovering what the Tullianum had been used for in pre-Christian, pagan Rome.

Experts removed old brick and wooden floors, digging down to the original stone floor.

Scholars had believed the domed prison was a cistern or a monumentalized fountain of sorts. Instead, Fortini said it had been "an ancient place of worship" specifically devoted to a water divinity such as "a nymph of underground water."

They found ancient remnants of votive offerings to the deity, things such as small burned animal bones and floral or vegetable matter dating from between the fifth and third centuries B.C.

From the ancient pagan Romans to early Christians, "this place was always venerated. It never lost its sacredness," Fortini said.

It may seem odd, however, that the ancient Romans took a sacred pagan spot for venerating the life-giving and healing powers of water and turned it into a dungeon.

Fortini said the underground water spring also conjured up many negative and dangerous scenarios. For example, in pagan Rome it was thought the spring provided a direct channel to the netherworld, she said.

Archaeologists found an ancient borehole going 5 feet into the ground. The borehole "put the inhabited world into contact with the underworld and, therefore, there was the possibility of having contact with the beyond somehow," she said.

Enemies of the Roman Empire were thrown into the watery pit of the Tullianium through a hole in the upper chamber of the Carcer. Romans believed the prisoners would then be carried away or just disappear into the netherworld -- a fate worse than death, she said.

The structure was used a prison until the fourth century, when Pope Sylvester I officially made it place of worship and named it "San Pietro in Carcere" (St. Peter in Prison) in 314.

The Church of St. Joseph was built atop the former prison complex in 1598.

The project to study and restore the Mamertine Prison was a cooperative effort of Rome's department of archaeological heritage, the Rome diocesan Committee for Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage and the diocesan-related travel agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.

After the Mamertine Prison reopened to the public at the end of June, the Opera Romana incorporated it into a new tour called "Roma Cristiana Experience," which was presented to journalists July 27.

Pilgrims hop on a methane gas-powered minibus leaving St. Peter's Square every 20 minutes and take a scenic route through Rome to the Mamertine Prison for a tour.

The tour is meant to help people deepen their faith and recognize the site's spiritual heritage: its successive conversion from being a sacred pagan spring, to being a dank place of suffering and death, and finally, after St. Peter made the waters pour forth, to becoming a place of renewal and rebirth.

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## TER

*Jerusalem tomb reveals first archaeological evidence of Christianity from the time of Jesus*

_Looks like more proofs of iconography being used in the early Church!  -TER _ 


link here


The archaeological examination by robotic camera of an intact first century tomb in Jerusalem has revealed a set of limestone Jewish ossuaries or bone boxes that are engraved with a rare Greek inscription and a unique iconographic image that the scholars involved identify as distinctly Christian.

The four-line Greek inscription on one ossuary refers to God raising up someone and a carved image found on an adjacent ossuary shows what appears to be a large fish with a human stick figure in its mouth, interpreted by the excavation team to be an image evoking the biblical story of Jonah.

In the earliest gospel materials the sign of Jonah, as mentioned by Jesus, has been interpreted as a symbol of his resurrection. Jonah images in later early Christian art, such as images found in the Roman catacombs, are the most common motif found on tombs as a symbol of Christian resurrection hope. In contrast, the story of Jonah is not depicted in any first century Jewish art and iconographic images on ossuaries are extremely rare, given the prohibition within Judaism of making images of people or animals.

The tomb in question is dated prior to 70 CE, when ossuary use in Jerusalem ceased due to the Roman destruction of the city. Accordingly, if the markings are Christian as the scholars involved believe, the engravings represent  by several centuries  the earliest archaeological record of Christians ever found. The engravings were most likely made by some of Jesus earliest followers, within decades of his death. Together, the inscription and the Jonah image testify to early Christian faith in resurrection. The tomb record thus predates the writing of the gospels.

The findings are detailed in a preliminary report by James D. Tabor, professor and chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, which is published online.

If anyone had claimed to find either a statement about resurrection or a Jonah image in a Jewish tomb of this period I would have said impossible  until now, Tabor said. Our team was in a kind of ecstatic disbelief, but the evidence was clearly before our eyes, causing us to revise our prior assumptions.

The publication of the academic article is concurrent with the publication of a book by Simon & Schuster entitled The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find That Reveals the Birth of Christianity. The book is co-authored by Professor James Tabor and filmmaker/professor Simcha Jacobovici. A documentary on the discovery will be aired by the Discovery Channel in spring 2012.

The findings and their interpretation are likely to be controversial, since most scholars are skeptical of any Christian archaeological remains from so early a period. Adding to the controversy is the tombs close proximity to a second tomb, discovered in 1980. This tomb, dubbed by some The Jesus Family Tomb, contained inscribed ossuaries that some scholars associate with Jesus and his family, including one that reads Jesus, son of Joseph.

Context is everything in archaeology, Tabor pointed out. These two tombs, less than 200 feet apart, were part of an ancient estate, likely related to a rich family of the time. We chose to investigate this tomb because of its proximity to the so-called Jesus tomb, not knowing if it would yield anything unusual.

The tomb containing the new discoveries is a modest sized, carefully carved rock cut cave tomb typical of Jerusalem in the period from 20 BCE until 70 CE.

The tomb was exposed in 1981 by builders and is currently several meters under the basement level of a modern condominium building in East Talpiot, a neighborhood of Jerusalem less than two miles south of the Old City. Archaeologists entered the tomb at the time, were able to briefly examine it and its ossuaries, take preliminary photographs, and remove one pot and an ossuary, before they were forced to leave by Orthodox religious groups who oppose excavation of Jewish tombs.

The ossuary taken, that of a child, is now in the Israel State Collection. It is decorated but has no inscriptions. The archaeologists mention two Greek names but did not notice either the newly discovered Greek inscription or the Jonah image before they were forced to leave. The tomb was re-sealed and buried beneath the condominium complex on what is now Don Gruner Street in East Talpiot.

The adjacent Jesus tomb, was uncovered by the same construction company in 1980, just one year earlier. It was thoroughly excavated and its contents removed by the Israel Antiquities Authority. This tombs controversial ossuaries with their unusual cluster of names (that some have associated with Jesus and his family) are now part of the Israel State Collection and have been on display in various venues, including the Israel Museum. These ossuaries will be in an exhibit running from late February through April 15 at Discovery Times Square.

In 2009 and 2010, Tabor and Rami Arav, professor of archaeology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, working together with Jacobovici, obtained a license to excavate the current tomb from the Israel Antiquities Authority under the academic sponsorship of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Because of its physical location under a modern building (making direct access nearly impossible), along with the threat of Orthodox Jewish groups that would protest any such excavation, Tabors team determined to employ a minimally invasive procedure in examining the tomb.

Funding for the excavation was provided by the Discovery Channel/Vision Television/Associated Producers. Jacobovicis team at the Toronto based Associated Producers developed a sophisticated robotic arm to carry high definition cameras, donated by General Electric. The robotic arm and a second snake camera were inserted through two drill holes in the basement floor of the building above the tomb. The probe was successful and the team was able to reach all the ossuaries and photograph them on all sides, thus revealing the new inscriptions.

Beyond the possible Christian connection, Tabor noted that the tombs assemblage of ossuaries stands out as clearly extraordinary in the context of other previously explored tombs in Jerusalem.

Everything in this tomb seems unusual when contrasted with what one normally finds inscribed on ossuaries in Jewish tombs of this period, Tabor said. Of the seven ossuaries remaining in the tomb, four of them have unusual features.

There are engravings on five of the seven ossuaries: an enigmatic symbol on ossuary 2 (possibly reading Yod Heh Vav Heh or Yahweh in stylized letters that can be read as Greek or Hebrew, though the team is uncertain); an inscription reading MARA in Greek letters (which Tabor translates as the feminine form of lord or master in Aramaic) on ossuary 3; an indecipherable word in Greek letters on ossuary 4 (possibly a name beginning with JO); the remarkable four-line Greek inscription on ossuary 5; and finally, and most importantly, a series of images on ossuary 6, including the large image of a fish with a figure seeming to come out of its mouth.

Among the approximately 2000 ossuaries that have been recovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority, only 650 have any inscriptions on them, and none have inscriptions comparable to those on ossuaries 5 and 6.

Less than a dozen ossuaries from the period have epitaphs but, according to Tabor, these inscribed messages usually have to do with warnings not to disturb the bones of the dead. In contrast, the four-line Greek inscription contains some kind of statement of resurrection faith.

Tabor noted that the epitaphs complete and final translation is uncertain. The first three lines are clear, but the last line, consisting of three Greek letters, is less sure, yielding several possible translations: O Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up, or The Divine Jehovah raises up to the Holy Place, or The Divine Jehovah raises up from [the dead].

This inscription has something to do with resurrection of the dead, either of the deceased in the ossuary, or perhaps, given the Jonah image nearby, an expression of faith in Jesus resurrection, Tabor said.

The ossuary with the image that Tabor and his team understand to be representing Jonah also has other interesting engravings. These also may be connected to resurrection, Tabor notes. On one side is the tail of a fish disappearing off the edge of the box, as if it is diving into the water. There are small fish images around its border on the front facing, and on the other side is the image of a cross-like gate or entrancewhich Tabor interprets as the notion of entering the bars of death, which are mentioned in the Jonah story in the Bible.

This Jonah ossuary is most fascinating, Tabor remarked. It seems to represent a pictorial story with the fish diving under the water on one end, the bars or gates of death, the bones inside, and the image of the great fish spitting out a man representing, based on the words of Jesus, the sign of Jonah  the sign that he would escape the bonds of death.

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## TER

bump for our local iconoclast!  Hopefully this will help clear some things up.

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