You probably have read articles like this one from the Chicago Sun-Times.

"Titanic" director James Cameron has produced a new documentary for the Discovery Channel in which archeologists claim to have discovered the tomb of Jesus Christ and his family -- including Mary Magdalene

Or heard reports in the media. Some background from the same article:

The documentary, directed by Simcha Jacobovici, claims that 10 ossuaries -- small limestone coffins into which bones were placed a year after a first-century Jew had died -- found in Jerusalem in 1980 contained remains of Jesus and members of his family -- including Magdalene, whom they say was Jesus' wife.

One of the ossuaries is inscribed with the name Jesus, another "Judah son of Jesus," and a third with the name "Mariamene," the moniker used to identify Mary Magdalene in early Christian texts, Jacobovici said Monday at a press conference in New York. The filmmaker says DNA testing showed that Mariamene's ossuary contained the remains of a woman who was not related to Jesus, and therefore likely was his spouse.


The Discovery Channel is to air Cameron's documentary Sunday night at 9pm ET. Link to the promotional material here.

From the Discovery Channel site:

Has the tomb of Jesus Christ been found?

Since the 1970s, hundreds of tombs and thousands of ossuaries (limestone bone boxes) have been discovered in the Jerusalem area. These ossuaries served as coffins in first-century Jerusalem.

One of these tombs was found to contain ten ossuaries. Six of the ossuaries in this tomb have inscriptions on them. As it turns out, every inscription in this particular tomb relates to the Gospels.

In the feature documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus a case is made that the 2,000-year-old "Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries" belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.

All leading epigraphers agree about the inscriptions. All archaeologists confirm the nature of the find. It comes down to a matter of statistics. A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters (Discovery Channel/Vision Canada/C4 UK) concludes that the probability factor is 600 to 1 in favor of this tomb being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.

The film also documents DNA extraction from human residue found in two of the ossuaries and reveals new evidence that throws light on Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene.

The documentary includes dramatic recreations, based on the latest historical evidence, illustrating accurate images of Jesus of Nazareth, his family, his followers, his ministry, his crucifixion and his entombment.

Part archaeological adventure, part Biblical history, part forensic science, part theological controversy: this is a story that will be carried around the world.

The executive producer of The Lost Tomb of Jesus is Academy award winning filmmaker, James Cameron. The producers are award winning filmmakers Felix Golubev and Ric Esther Bienstock. The director is Emmy award winning documentarian, Simcha Jacobovici.


So, do I think this is the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth? Not likely, and I am speaking as an historian.

First, consider what they have found: a tomb in Jerusalem.

All the evidence links Jesus of Nazareth to Galilee. Why would a family tomb be in Jerusalem?

First, consider what they have found: a tomb in Jerusalem, containing "bone boxes" marked with the names Jesus and Mary.

These are the two most common names among Jews of the day. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua; Mary is the Greek form of Miriam. Lots of Joshuas and Marys in that day, probably many couples with those names.

First, consider what they have found: a tomb in Jerusalem, containing "bone boxes" marked with the names Jesus and Mary, and human remains giving DNA.

Putting aside the question of the reliability of testing 2000 year old DNA, unless one has samples of known DNA from Jesus of Nazareth or from members of his immediate family for comparison, all that can be ascertained is the relationship between the samples taken from this tomb.

Second, consider that the early followers of Jesus, after his death, proclaimed publicly that he was no longer dead, but had been raised to the living bodily. These early followers had powerful enemies in Jerusalem. The easiest way to humiliate and crush the early Christian movement would have been to produce the body. Nobody did. Hard to believe that the power structure in Jerusalem could not have found and opened the family tomb of Jesus of Nazareth if the body were in town. From a purely historical point of view, the absence of the body does not prove the Christian belief in the Resurrection; but it does cast doubt on the likelyhood of a family tomb in or near Jerusalem.