One of the most debated yet significant artifacts in the world of biblical archaeology is part of a major new exhibit in Atlanta that boasts 350 historical items from the time of Jesus, allowing believers and non-believers alike to explore the lives of those who walked with Christ.
“Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures from the Holy Land” is now open at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, combining archaeology and technology as part of an experience that its creators say will bring the New Testament to life.
It includes the Golan collection, so named for the Israeli entrepreneur and antiquities collector Oded Golan, who has spent decades amassing a collection of items from first-century Israel. The exhibition also includes immersive films.
The most well-known item in the collection is the James Ossuary, a first-century limestone box that includes an intriguing inscription reading in Aramaic, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” — meaning it may have once held the bones of James, the brother of Christ. Scholars universally agree that the box dates to the first century, but the heart of the debate centers on the timing of the inscription. Debate over its authenticity divided the archaeological world when it was first unveiled two decades ago.
Golan won a court case against the Israel Antiquities Authority, which had charged him with forgery. A judge acquitted him, and — since then — multiple scholars have sided with Golan.
“I bought it when I was a student of engineering in Israel, and I didn’t recognize its importance at all,” Golan told Crosswalk Headlines.
A scholar later translated the inscription for Golan. It is significant, he said, that three names are on the ossuary.
“If you put it into account all these elements together, it’s almost sure that this ossuary belonged to James, the brother of Jesus,” Golan said. “… We did several chemical tests to the ossuary, and especially to the inscription itself, which is the more important element in the ossuary, and we proved that the whole inscription is authentic. It was engraved several thousand years ago.
“If you put all those elements together, we are really facing one of the most, most important items ever found, not only in Israel, I think, but in history. …I think now there is no question about the authenticity of it.”
The exhibit will inspire audiences, Golan said. Most of the items in the collection, he said, “are from the first century, from the time of Jesus.”
“It connects you to the stories, to the history, to the faith,” he said. “… You learn a lot of the cultural and traditional and religious elements that were part of his community.”
Photo Credit: ©Discovering the World of Jesus
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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