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preceded the reconstruction of king Herod. The writ- Where was such a testimony discovered? In Jerusalem,
ten sources are further complicated by the fact that the written on the sides of ossuaries (small stone coffins)
second Temple was actually "built" twice. It's original in the burial caves of some first century Disciples of
construction, in the days of Nehemiah, was a simpler Jesus. They are the oldest written record of Christian
structure. The Hasmonean kings enlarged and refur- faith ever found, revealing personal messages from the
bished it. When Herod became king of Judea in the 1st past with a very modern meaning for the present.
Century, he started a massive building and renovation
program, transforming the Temple and its courts into When archaeologists first entered a hidden and previ-
an architectural monument which contemporary writ- ously unopened burial cave carved in a mountainside in
ers considered the largest and most impressive struc- the Valley of Ye-ho-sha-fat (the "Valley of the Judge-
ture of its time. ment of God") in Jerusalem, they found several ossuar-
ies, or small stone coffins, with names, symbols and
With the close of the excavations in July of this year, dedications etched on their sides.
Dr. Magen and his team will begin the long task of re-
cording, interpreting and publishing 18 years of data. This find, which was first reported in the Jerusalem
This will hopefully open a window on the history of Christian Review, Volume 7, Issue 1, was made by re-
the Temple in Jerusalem, which history closed 2000 nown archaeologist Prof. Eliezer L. Sukenik, the father
years ago. Jesus had predicted that the Temple would of the legendary Israeli scholar, Prof. Yigael Yadin,
be completely destroyed and it was in 70 AD. and later reviewed and studied by many prominent
scholars including Jerusalem historian, Prof. Ory
Meanwhile, as of this year, Mount Grizim and the re- Mazar.
mains of the Samaritan copy of the Jerusalem Temple
of Nehemaiah, is a protected archaeological park now The first surprise was the realization that this tomb had
open to visitors. been untouched for almost 2,000 years. Thus, the ar-
chaeologists who entered the catacomb were the first
Disciple's Tomb Testifies to Christ's to do so in nearly twenty centuries.
Ascension
Etched on the sides of several of the ossuaries were
In Death, First Century Christians cross marks and dedications.
Herald the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
'When the ossuary with four crosses on its sides was
found," wrote Sukenik after the discovery, "there was
Donald L. Johnson not the slightest possible doubt as to the antiquity of
Review Staff Editor the cross [marks], because it was clear that these [cof-
fins] had not been touched from the moment they had
JERUSALEM, Israel -- Do you enjoy hearing personal been placed inside [the tomb] until the day we took
testimonies about Jesus? Do you get excited when you them out..."
read of the way Christ has changed someone's life?
The second revelation was the fact that this catacomb
What if the testimony was not from today, but rather (burial cave) indeed belonged to a distinguished family
that of a Disciple who lived 2,000 years ago? What if from Jerusalem. "In fact," recalls Jerusalem historian,
this Disciple was actually a member of the first cen- Prof. Ory Mazar, "Sukenik was elated when he realized
tury Church, of a family of Christians mentioned in the that this family is well known from the New Testa-
New Testament? What if this testimony was made by ment. At least some members of the family were
someone who physically walked with the Savior, saw among the very first Disciples of Jesus Christ."
His miracles and can personally tell us of His faith in
the risen Lord? What if these bold claims about Jesus One of the ossuaries which bore a cross mark was in-
Christ were even older than the writing of the New scribed with the Hebrew name, "MIRIAM BARAT SHI-
Testament itself? MON" which translated, reads, "Mary, the daughter of
Simon." This coffin was found at the entrance of the
catacomb, and was thus the last to be buried there. A

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