Even though it might seem surprising, relatively little archaeological research has been conducted in Nazareth city. A cross the street from the Church of the Annunciation, a site within the Sisters of Nazareth Convent may hold some of the greatest evidence of the small town that was here during Jesus' time.
This has been known since the 1880s, but until the Nazareth Archaeological Project started working here in 2006, it had never been fully documented or even researched by expert archaeologists.
Archaeologist Ken Dark claims that Jesus' childhood home may have been found beneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent in Nazareth, Israel.
Ken Dark is a British archaeologist who studies the first millennium AD in Europe (including Roman and immediately post-Roman Britain) and the Roman and Byzantine Middle East, as well as early Christian archaeology, archaeological theory, and methods.
Professor Ken Dark of the University of Reading in England believes he has made a convincing case for the discovery of ancient ruins under a modern-day monastery.
Professor Ken Dark claims that the old building was originally looked at in the 19th century, but that by the 1930s, experts had lost interest in the theory. Since then, the location has mostly been forgotten; nonetheless, he launched an expedition in 2006 to conduct a further investigation.
Jesus Christ's Childhood House
Ken Dark, the director of the Nazareth Archaeological Project, explores the evidence that suggests this is the location where Jesus spent his formative years, or at least the location regarded in the Byzantine period as the childhood home of Jesus, in his article "Has Jesus' Nazareth House Been Found?" in the March/April 2015 issue of BAR.
Dark wrote about his findings ( the childhood home of Jesus) in his book, The Sisters of Nazareth Convent: A Roman-period, Byzantine, and Crusader site in central Nazareth.
A Byzantine-era church that is buried under the Sisters of Nazareth Convent is where the dwelling was discovered. Dark studied archives and artifacts found throughout decades of prior digs at the Sister of Nazareth rather than conducting new excavations there. An inventory of the evidence already excavated during the repair of the deteriorating concrete floor from the 20th century was part of the assessment.
Professor Ken Dark stated, "We know from written evidence this church was believed in the Byzantine period to have been built on the site of Jesus’ home and the dwelling preserved in its crypt".
Dark told BBC that his research showed the original dwelling was carved from the rocky hillside by an expert stoneworker.
An archaeologist employed by the Antiquities Authority, Yardenna Alexandre, investigated a small site next to the one Prof. Ken Dark inspected in the Chemin Neuf International Mary Centre in the heart of Nazareth. She informed the Jerusalem Post that she had also discovered Early Roman house remains, which most likely belonged to residents of the ancient Jewish village of Nazareth.
Dark acknowledged that his idea is supported by proven data, but he added that it's not a conclusive case. There is a very strong argument that this was Jesus' childhood home. On the other hand, the evidence does not go far enough to fully prove that. Whether or not that could ever be proven is up for debate.
Sources:
- https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/has-the-childhood-home-of-jesus-been-found/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-55061233
- https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jesus-childhood-home-nazareth-1234578353/
- https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/41/2/7
- https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003088240/sisters-nazareth-convent-ken-dark
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