Almost everyone, Christian and non-Christian, has heard of Pontius Pilate and is generally aware of his role in the death of Jesus. He was certainly an historical figure as archaeology, non-biblical historical sources, and the gospels can attest. Pilate was a prefectus, sometimes translated into English as governor, appointed by Rome to administer the relatively …
Author: David Christian Clausen
Disagreement over Jesus’s Resurrection: How did it Really Happen?
Tomorrow Christians celebrate the pivotal event that lead a group of disheartened, first-century Jews to feel as if their faith in Jesus as the messiah was vindicated even after his horrifying execution. The event is known as the resurrection and it helped transform a Jewish sectarian reformist movement into a worldwide religion that ultimately left …
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New Discoveries in Archaeology
I'll try to add some additional posts over the holidays to catch people up on some recent discoveries. Just in the news is the discovery of a 1,300 pound stone off of the coast of ancient Dor bearing an inscription dating from around the time of the second Jewish revolt against Rome (ca. 132 CE). …
The Last Surviving Crusader Capital in the Cenacle
In an article published in 1983, Bianca and Gustav Kühnel draw our attention to what may be the only Crusader-era capital remaining in the Upper Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Now supporting the qubba (dome) over the stairway between the upper and lower chambers, the capital was apparently re-used by …
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Back to the Alamo…
Things have been quiet this summer here at the blog but are already picking up quickly. I will be presenting my paper discussing the question of whether the Upper Room in Jerusalem was ever a Jewish synagogue at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature in San Antonio on November 19 …
Another Season Complete!
Digging at Mount Zion in Jerusalem, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (where I teach!) has come to a close for this 2016 season. A great write-up about the dig and its associated discoveries was published July 13, 2016 in Jerusalem's Haaretz news website in an article called "Archaeologists Uncover Second Temple-era Priestly Quarter …
Sacred Structures along the Kidron Valley and on the Mount of Olives
There are many sacred structures along the east side of Jerusalem, some dating back to before the time of King Herod (37-4 BCE). The oldest is the Tomb of the Bene-Hezir, a priestly family, from the 2nd century BCE. It can be seen to the left in the picture above. To its right is the …
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Mount Zion, Jerusalem
This photograph of the Cenacle, or Upper Room of the Last Supper, was taken from the rotunda of the Church of the Dormition. With the kind permission of Father Elias and the assistance of Lukas, a young volunteer worker from Cologne, I was able to access the top of the dome from which I could …
The Judgment Seat of Pilate
One of the most fascinating recent discoveries in Jerusalem is the gate that once led to King Herod’s palace but was later used by the Roman prefects of Judea as their judgment seat called Gabbatha or Lithostrotos. The Gospel of John 19:13 says that Jesus stood before Pilate here as his death sentence was pronounced. …
The Ancient Upper Room and Tomb of David
While in Jerusalem, I cannot help but to repeatedly visit the structure about which I have extensively written. The above photograph displays with amazing clarity the long history of the building we today identify as the Upper Room of the Last Supper and the Tomb of King David. That history is physically present in the …
