Not Vindicated in Any Way

Back to “Jesus Tomb” Controversy Erupts—Again

In my estimation what came out of the Symposium is that there is no evidence—historical, archaeological, epigraphic, scientific (in terms of DNA and patina studies), architectural/artistic or otherwise—to support the idea that the Talpiot tomb was the family tomb of Jesus. Moreover, from my personal association with the excavator Yosef Gath in the 1980s I do not believe that he ever made any connection between the ossuary inscriptions in the tomb and names appearing in the Gospels. I also repudiate the claim made by the film-makers of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” that the Symposium had in any way vindicated their argument. In fact, the opposite is true and scholars were hard-pressed to find any evidence supporting the notion of a Jesus family tomb at Talpiot.

—From the University of the Holy Land Web site

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