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Date:         Fri, 14 Aug 1992 20:48:00 EDT
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From:         LIZ MOREAU <EMOREAU@UMASSD.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: New Discovery

BONES OF JESUS' JUDGE DISCOVERED

Archaeologists have discovered the bones of a first century man with
the same name as the high priest who handed Jesus over to the Romans,
providing the first archaeological evidence of amjaor figure in the
New Testament.

The age of the bones, the elaborateness of the ossuary in which they
were found and the inscriptions with the name Caiaphas found on the
side of the casketlike box point to the man described in the Gospels,
according to a report in the September-October issue of biblical
Archaeology Review.

"This is of course exciting," Ronny Reich of the Israeli Antiquities
Authority said in an interview Thursday.  "This is some way of
dialogue with people 2,000 years ago."

The finding is particularly striking since there is no other
archaeological evidence of the remains of any of the major figures
mentioned in the New Testament, Mr. Reich said.

Although Mr. Reich and Zvi Greenhut, city archaeologist of Jerusalem,
say they cannot make a positive identification of Caiaphas, an
associate editor of the magazine said the evidence is strong.

"The absolute evidence is never there, but it's about as strong a link
as you can find in the field," Steven Feldman said.

Archaeologists came upon the bones by accident in November 1990 during
the building of a water park in Peace Forest on the outskirts of
Jerusalem.  The roof of the burial cave had collapsed, and
archeologists discovered 12 ossuaries, or bone boxes, Mr. Greenhut
said.

In the late Second Temple period (1st century B.C. to 1st century
A.D.), bodies were often laid out in a niche of burial caves.  After
the flesh had decomposed, the bones were collected in an ossuary,
apparently reflecting a belief in resurrection, for which purpose the
bones were stored, Mr. Greenhut wrote.

On the outside of a particularly ornate ossuary - decorated in what
Greenhut said was a rare and intricate pattern of rosettes - the
inscription "Joseph, son of Caiaphas" was in two places.  Inside the
ossuary were the bones of a 60-year-old man.

A person named Joseph, nicknamed Caiaphas, was the high priest in
Jerusalem from the years 18 to 36 A.D.

Mr. Reich said that the New Testament provides the nickname only in
Greek form, but the first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus
gives his full name as "Joseph who was called Caiaphas of the high
priesthood."

Further evidence indicating the ossuary dates to the first century was
a bronze coin minted in the years 42 and 43 during the reign of Herod
Agrippa I found in another ossuary.

So, are the bones of the 60-year-old man those of Caiaphas, the high
priest who is said in the Gospel of Matthew to have found Jesus guilty
of blasphemy before handing him over the the Roman governor Pilate for
execution?

"This is a hard question," Mr. Greenhut said in a telephone interview
from his home.

The inscriptions and the age and the elaborateness of the ossuary all
point to the bones being those of Caiaphas, but the bones were not
identified as those of Caiaphas the high priest, Mr. Greenhut said.
Also, the relative simplicity of the burial cave raises doubts, he
said.

Others are less cautious.

"How many Joseph sons of Caiaphas could there have been in that
period? ... Again, in the context of a very elaborate ossuary," Mr.
Feldman said.

Mr. Feldman said the find should be particularly exciting to some
believing Christians because it may bolster the accuracy of the bible
for them.

But it is also exciting to archaeologists and students of the Bible
for bringing alive an important piece of history, he said.

Only a few biblical figures from the second century B.C. to the second
century A.D. have been positively identified in archaeological finds.

"Now to that small list, we may add, in all probability, the high
priest who presided at Jesus' trial," Mr. Reich wrote.

After the archaeological study was made, Mr. Greenhut said, the bones
were given over to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which reburied
them on the Mount of Olives.
                                  -New Bedford Standard-Times
                                   8/14/92


                                                Liz
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