Archeologists may have uncovered site of Jesus' trial
Location where Pontius Pilate is thought to have questioned Christ now open to tourists.
In an effort to expand The Tower of David Museum, archeologists
began excavating an adjacent, abandoned prison building, the Washington
Post reports. As they stripped away layers of the prison floor, they
realized they were likely uncovering a missing link in the puzzle of the
Holy Land’s history.
Although the discovery began over a decade ago, the site is just
now being opened to the public for the millions of religious pilgrims
that flock to the area every year.
“For those Christians who care about accuracy in regards to
historical facts, this is very forceful,” Yisca Harani, an expert on
Christianity and pilgrimage to the Holy Land, told the Washington Post.
“For others, however, those who come for the general mental
exercise of being in Jerusalem, they don’t care as long as [their
journey] ends in Golgotha — the site of the Crucifixion.”
Most Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land walk the path of the
Stations of the Cross, known as the Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Way of
Sorrows”), which currently does not include the Tower of David Museum or
the trial site. Although it may not be added to the path right away,
museum workers hope it becomes a standard stop for visiting Christians.
Scholars and theologians cannot say with certainty whether this
site is where the trial took place, but it seems to check out in many
ways. According to the Gospels, Jesus was tried before Pilate in the
“praetorium,” a Latin term for a general’s tent within a Roman
encampment. Some believe this praetorium would rather be on the site of
the former Roman military barracks.
But others, such as archaeology professor Shimon Gibson with the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, are almost certain the trial
would have occurred somewhere within Herod’s palace compound located in
the western part of the city, which is where the Tower of David museum
and the abandoned prison are located.
The new site also fits a detail in the Gospel of John which
describe the trial as taking place on The Pavement, or in Hebrew,
Gab’batha (John 19:13), as well as a description in Mark 15:16, which
describe Jesus as being led away inside the palace.
“There is, of course, no inscription stating it happened here, but
everything — archaeological, historical and gospel accounts — all falls
into place and makes sense,” Gibson told the Washington Post.
The Rev David Pileggi, minister of Christ Church, an Anglican
congregation near the museum, told the publication that the discovery
fits “what everyone expected all along, that the trial took place near
the Tower of David.”
Source: Catholic News Agency
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