Jesus tomb found, says filmmaker

NEW YORK – The director of the movie ‘Titanic’ presented on Monday what he said was evidence the tomb of Jesus had been uncovered but scholars greeted the assertion with skepticism, some dismissing it as a publicity stunt.

James Cameron and a team of scholars showed two stone ossuaries, or bone boxes, that he said might have once contained the bones of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The findings are the subject of a documentary he produced called ‘The Lost Tomb of Jesus’ and a book ‘The Jesus Family Tomb.’ The two small caskets were part of 10 found in 1980 during construction in South Jerusalem.Several had inscriptions translated as Jesus, Mary Magdalene and “Judah, son of Jesus,” Cameron told a news conference at the New York Public Library surrounded by scholars and archeologists.”This is the beginnings of an ongoing investigation,” Cameron said.”If things come to light that erode this investigation, then so be it.”The filmmakers said that statistically there was a 1 in 600 chance that the names found on the inscriptions were not the family of Jesus.They also argued that the name “Mariamene e Mara,” the only inscription written in Greek, translated to Magdalene’s real name.If this was the tomb of Jesus, the revelations are likely to raise the ire of Christians because the discovery would challenge the belief that Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven.The documentary comes on the heels of the huge success of the novel “‘The Da Vinci Code’, which contends that Mary Magdalene had a child with Jesus.But Dr Shimon Gibson, one of the archeologists who discovered the tomb, told Reuters at the news conference he had a “healthy skepticism” the tomb may have belonged to the family of Jesus.In Jerusalem, the Israeli archeologist who also carried out excavations at the tomb on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, disputed the documentary’s conclusions.Nampa-ReutersThe findings are the subject of a documentary he produced called ‘The Lost Tomb of Jesus’ and a book ‘The Jesus Family Tomb.’ The two small caskets were part of 10 found in 1980 during construction in South Jerusalem.Several had inscriptions translated as Jesus, Mary Magdalene and “Judah, son of Jesus,” Cameron told a news conference at the New York Public Library surrounded by scholars and archeologists.”This is the beginnings of an ongoing investigation,” Cameron said.”If things come to light that erode this investigation, then so be it.”The filmmakers said that statistically there was a 1 in 600 chance that the names found on the inscriptions were not the family of Jesus.They also argued that the name “Mariamene e Mara,” the only inscription written in Greek, translated to Magdalene’s real name.If this was the tomb of Jesus, the revelations are likely to raise the ire of Christians because the discovery would challenge the belief that Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven.The documentary comes on the heels of the huge success of the novel “‘The Da Vinci Code’, which contends that Mary Magdalene had a child with Jesus.But Dr Shimon Gibson, one of the archeologists who discovered the tomb, told Reuters at the news conference he had a “healthy skepticism” the tomb may have belonged to the family of Jesus.In Jerusalem, the Israeli archeologist who also carried out excavations at the tomb on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, disputed the documentary’s conclusions.Nampa-Reuters

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