Archaeologists, scholars dispute Jesus documentary*

POSTED: 1427 GMT (2227 HKT), February 27, 2007

Story Highlights
• Documentary claims to have found bones of Jesus' family
• Film suggests Jesus may have had son
• Archaeologists, religious scholars skeptical
• Oscar-winner James Cameron directed film

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Filmmakers and researchers on Monday unveiled two
ancient stone boxes they said may have once contained the remains of
Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but several scholars derided the claims made
in a new documentary as unfounded and contradictory to basic Christian
beliefs.

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus," produced by Oscar-winning director James
Cameron and scheduled to air March 4 on the Discovery Channel, argues
that 10 small caskets discovered in 1980 in a Jerusalem suburb may have
held the bones of Jesus and his family.

One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting
that Jesus may have had a son, according to the film. (Watch why it
could be any Mary, Jesus and Joseph in those boxes Video)

"There's a definite sense that you have to pinch yourself," Cameron said
Monday at a news conference. He told NBC'S "Today" show earlier that
statisticians found "in the range of a couple of million to one" in
favor of the documentary's conclusions about the caskets, or ossuaries.
(Watch Cameron talk about his involvement in the documentary Video)

Simcha Jacobovici, the Toronto filmmaker who directed the film, said
that a name on one of the ossuaries -- "Mariamene" -- offers evidence
that the tomb is that of Jesus and his family. In early Christian texts,
"Mariamene" is the name of Mary Magdalene, he said.

The very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian
belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Most Christians believe Jesus' body spent three days at the site of the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City. The burial site
identified in Cameron's documentary is in a southern Jerusalem
neighborhood nowhere near the church.

In 1996, when the British Broadcasting Corp. aired a short documentary
on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner,
the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold
up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.

"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.

Shimon Gibson, one of three archaeologists who first discovered the tomb
in 1980, said Monday of the film's claims: "I'm skeptical, but that's
the way I am. I'm willing to accept the possibility."

The film's claims, however, have raised the ire of Christian leaders in
the Holy Land.

Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in
Jerusalem who was interviewed in the documentary, said the film's
hypothesis holds little weight.

"I don't think that Christians are going to buy into this," Pfann said.
"But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes
into the story that so many people hold dear."

"How possible is it?" Pfann said. "On a scale of one through 10 -- 10
being completely possible -- it's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."

Pfann is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read
correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun." Ancient Semitic
script is notoriously difficult to decipher.

Kloner also said the filmmakers' assertions are false. "The names on the
caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time," he said.

William Dever, an expert on near eastern archaeology and anthropology,
who has worked with Israeli archeologists for five decades, said
specialists have known about the ossuaries for years.

"The fact that it's been ignored tells you something," said Dever,
professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. "It would be amusing if
it didn't mislead so many people."

Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the Israeli government agency responsible
for archaeology, said the Antiquities Authority agreed to send two
ossuaries to New York, but they did not contain human remains. "We
agreed to send the ossuaries, but it doesn't mean that we agree with"
the filmmakers, she said.