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View Full Version : Crucifixion Bone Fragment, 21 CE



Mister D
12-23-2011, 04:36 PM
I've read about this before and decided to look it up today after seeing a documentary that mentioned it.

The victims of crucifixion were usually thrown into mass graves or a disposd of in some other haphazard manner. This had led some to argue that the body of Jesus of Nazareth would not have been buried in a tomb at all. This is pretty firm archaeological evidence that at least in some cases the victims bodies were turned over to their loved ones and given decent burial. This is more of an Easter thing but I can't wait until April. :smiley:

The heel bone of Yehohanan ben Hagkol, a Jewish resident of Jerusalem.

This heel bone punctured by an iron nail is the only tangible evidence for the practice of crucifixion to have been discovered in archaeological excavations. The bone was found inside an ossuary in a cave in north Jerusalem. It is inscribed with the name of the deceased—Yehohanan son of Hagkol—a young Jew in his twenties. The find indicates that his legs had been nailed to the sides of a cross, while his arms were apparently tied to the crossbeam. When his relatives took him down for burial, they were unable to detach his right foot from the wooden post, since the nail was bent; as a result, they removed part of the wooden cross along with the body.


http://cojs.org/cojswiki/Crucifixion_Bone_Fragment,_21_CE

cindy
12-23-2011, 06:59 PM
Easter is my second favorite holiday after Christmas :)

Mister D
12-23-2011, 08:16 PM
Easter has become a time of spiritual reflection for me. Christmas is not an important Christian feast in historical or religious terms so I let it slide and have fun.

Conley
12-23-2011, 08:45 PM
Christmas isn't a big deal? I think I've read that it wasn't a big holiday in the Church originally, but I don't remember when that changed.

Mister D
12-23-2011, 11:19 PM
Christmas isn't a big deal? I think I've read that it wasn't a big holiday in the Church originally, but I don't remember when that changed.

Not really. It became a major holiday only in the mid 19th century if I'm not mistaken.

Conley
12-23-2011, 11:41 PM
Also I agree with you, it seems with all the crucifixions they did at least some would have gotten proper burials.

Mister D
12-24-2011, 10:12 AM
Also I agree with you, it seems with all the crucifixions they did at least some would have gotten proper burials.

This is fairly solid evidence that it did happen.