Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2016 22:23:16 GMT -5
As many of you know, I'm an atheist. But I'm mad about historical things, and heck, I grew up a Catholic. Moreover, whatever one believes about Christ religion-wise, I think there's pretty solid evidence to show he was a genuine historic figure -- and a pretty darn important one. Finally, one of my most interesting trips was to Jerusalem, where I went repeatedly to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (an utterly fascinating place -- I may babble on about why in a future post if anyone is interested. I wrote about it at length in an old travel blog of mine).
So anyway, the fact that they recently unsealed Christ's alleged tomb in the church for the first time in centuries (it's been covered for centuries with gobs of marble to protect it from eager pilgrims eager to take home a little piece of Jesus's grave) just fascinated me.
news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-christ-tomb-burial-church-holy-sepulchre/
Also --
There's much more at my link, if you're interested. It's actually pretty cool, IMO, whether or not you are religious (says the atheist).
So anyway, the fact that they recently unsealed Christ's alleged tomb in the church for the first time in centuries (it's been covered for centuries with gobs of marble to protect it from eager pilgrims eager to take home a little piece of Jesus's grave) just fascinated me.
news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-christ-tomb-burial-church-holy-sepulchre/
When the marble cladding was first removed on the night of October 26, an initial inspection by the conservation team from the National Technical University of Athens showed only a layer of fill material underneath. However, as researchers continued their nonstop work over the course of 60 hours, another marble slab with a cross carved into its surface was exposed. By the night of October 28, just hours before the tomb was to be resealed, the original limestone burial bed was revealed intact.
"I'm absolutely amazed. My knees are shaking a little bit because I wasn't expecting this,” said Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic's archaeologist-in-residence. "We can't say 100 percent, but it appears to be visible proof that the location of the tomb has not shifted through time, something that scientists and historians have wondered for decades."
In addition, researchers confirmed the existence of the original limestone cave walls within the 18th-century Edicule, or shrine, which encloses the tomb. A window has been cut into the southern interior wall of the shrine to expose one of the cave walls.
"I'm absolutely amazed. My knees are shaking a little bit because I wasn't expecting this,” said Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic's archaeologist-in-residence. "We can't say 100 percent, but it appears to be visible proof that the location of the tomb has not shifted through time, something that scientists and historians have wondered for decades."
In addition, researchers confirmed the existence of the original limestone cave walls within the 18th-century Edicule, or shrine, which encloses the tomb. A window has been cut into the southern interior wall of the shrine to expose one of the cave walls.
While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb recently uncovered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, there is indirect evidence to suggest that the identification of the site by representatives of the Roman emperor Constantine some 300 years later may be a reasonable one.
