A Talpiot Tomb Question for James Charlesworth

In a recent interview in The Jerusalem Post, Dr. James Charlesworth, the scholar behind the recent Jerusalem conference on the Talpiot Tomb, said
Every single name [on the ossuaries] in the tomb can be found in the New Testament either directly or indirectly related to Jesus’s clan,” he points out.
Which gives rise to one question, where [...]

Conspiracy Theories as Historical Just so Stories

In a recent episode of the Simpsons, we are taken back to the 90’s and introduced to Marge’s time at college. As her story unfolds, we are introduced to her history professor, a younger and more lecherous (hopefully) version of Howard Zinn. Every lecture of this young firebrand (who just seems more interested [...]

Talpiot Tomb Redux

Ok, there has been a lot of stuff going on in the world of academic blogs concerning the recent Talpiot Tomb conference, and I thought I would bring up some important updates.
First (alternative site), a number of scholars have, in an effort becoming known as the Meyers/Magness statement, a group of scholars have signed on [...]

Further Details

I would also direct readers to the following story on the UHL website, which makes it quite clear that scholars can find no evidence of the Talpiot Tomb being Jesus, and there is no clear majority in support of such a statement.  In conjunction with the recent story concerning Ruth Gat, I offer the following [...]

Necessary Words on the Talpiot Tomb

I would just like to point everyone to Prof. E. Meyers quote at the University of the Holy Land Website:
I was shocked that the near universal scholarly consensus that the Talpiot tomb could not be the Tomb of Jesus was ignored by the press. In a surprise move, Simcha Jacobovici addressed the group at the [...]

Quality over Context

Among those interested in early Christian history and biblical archaeology, the recent conference in Jerusalem concerning the Talpiot Tomb has been a point of some discussion. One point that has been the focus of much discussion was the statement made by the widow of Yosef Gat, that here husband believed that he had [...]

Talpiot Tomb: Reviewed, Part II

With this article, I begin looking at the pieces published in the most recent Near Eastern Archaeology, concerning the Talpiot Tomb and its proposed identification with the family of Jesus. Dr. James Tabor, the leading scholarly proponent for such an identification has noted these pieces as supporting the discussion and importance to [...]

James Tabor’s Descent into Ignominy

On his site, James Tabor, the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at UNC Charlotte, discusses this article, by Aren Maeir, chair of archaeology and land of Israel studies at Bar Ilan University. Overall it is a relatively neutral piece, with the only large objection I can find being Maeir’s statement concerning those [...]

Genesis 1:1

So what is archaeoporn?  Well, other than the once annual cover of Biblical Archaeology Review, its a term used by Bill Dever in discussing the Tomb of Jesus special aired this year on the discovery channel.  It refers to a presentation of archaeological theory or information that is showy and attractive, particularly to a lay [...]

Off to a good start

Well, it seems that the day I start this blog, the wonderful people over at AIA have posted a new editorial discussing the importance of fighting biblical archaeoporn.
Since this is really what this blog is about, I hope people will head over and see this as a good jumping off point.
However, the author pins too [...]