Scholars Criticize Documentary about Finding the Bones of Jesus

By Carol Johnson

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus" is a new documentary produced by James Cameron that has succeeded in causing a public uproar before even being shown to the public. The documentary, which will be shown on the Discovery Channel on March 4, postulates that the bones of Jesus and his family may have been found in Jerusalem over two decades ago.

Over the last 30 years, there have been hundreds of tombs discovered in the area around Jerusalem, as well as thousands of ossuaries—small caskets used to store bones, in the same manner as coffins today. In one tomb that was unearthed in 1980, archaeologists found ten ossuaries, six of which had inscriptions on them. Every inscription inside the tomb relates to the Gospels of the Bible.

Cameron’s film painstakingly makes its case that the 2,000 year old "Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries," as the tomb has come to be known, actually belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth. One of the ossuaries even has the inscription, "Judah, son of Jesus," which the documentary says hints at the idea that Jesus may have had a son. For most Christians, the very fact that Jesus was entombed in an ossuary would be in direct opposition to the Bible’s account of him being resurrected and ascending to Heaven.

"The historical, religious and archaeological evidence show that the place where Christ was buried is the Church of the Resurrection," said Attallah Hana, a Greek Orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem. He added that the story told in the documentary, "contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to." Most Christians believe that the body of Jesus was entombed for three days at what is now the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City. But Cameron’s documentary says that the burial site is actually a southern Jerusalem neighborhood nowhere near the church.

Simcha Jacobovici, the Emmy-award winning director of the film, said that a name on one of the ossuaries—Mariamene—may prove that the tomb is indeed that of Jesus and his family. According to Jacobovici, in early Christian texts, "Mariamene" is the name of Mary Magdalene. He said that he believes the implications of this discovery "are huge," but that they are not necessarily what people think they are. "For example," Jacobovici told NBC’s "Today" show, "some believers are going to say, well this challenges the resurrection. I don't know why, if Jesus rose from one tomb, he couldn't have risen from the other tomb."

Amos Kloner, the first archeologist to examine the site upon its discovery, said that the postulations put forth by the documentary are not true. "It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave," Kloner told reporters. "The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time." He added that by archaeological standards, the idea of the tomb being the burial site of Jesus of Nazareth doesn’t hold up. "They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.

One bible scholar who also finds fault with the documentary’s assertions actually appears in the film. Stephen Pfann, at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem, said that he doesn’t think Christians are going to buy into the idea. "But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear." Explaining that ancient Semitic script is extremely difficult to decipher, Pfann doubts that the name "Jesus" on one of the ossuaries was even read correctly, saying that the name is probably actually "Hanun." Asked about the chances that the documentary’s hypothesis is actually true, he said there is a miniscule possibility. "On a scale of one through 10 - 10 being completely possible," he said, "It's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."

A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters of the film arrived at the conclusion that the probability of this tomb being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family are about 600 to 1 in favor. The documentary includes dramatic recreations of Jesus of Nazareth and his family, his ministry, his crucifixion, and his entombment. It also discusses the procedure whereby DNA was extracted from human residue found in two of the ossuaries, and brings to light new evidence that raises questions about the relationship Jesus had with Mary Magdalene.

Cameron told the "Today" show that he thinks his critics should stop making such a fuss until they’ve actually seen the film. "I’m not a theologist," he said. "I’m not an archaeologist. I’m a documentary filmmaker."