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The fragment, including the Hebrew inscription 'Son of the High Priest' (Photo: Assaf Peretz/Shlomi Ammami).
Last update - 22:45 07/10/2008
Burial artifact inscribed 'Son of High Priest' found near West Bank fence route
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Jesus, High Priest

Israeli archaeologists working along the proposed route of the West Bank fence north of Jerusalem have unearthed part of a sarcophagus cover with the inscription "son of the High Priest" and dating to the time of Jesus and the Second Temple, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

The 60 cm by 48 cm (2 feet by 19 inch) fragment of limestone bearing the Hebrew inscription "Ben Hacohen Hagadol" does not specify to which priest it refers.

"However, it should probably be identified with one of the priests that officiated there between the years 30 and 70 C.E.," the Authority said in a statement late on Monday Among the high priests who served during that period were Yosef Bar Kayafa, or Caiaphas, Theophilus (Yedidiya) Ben Hanan, Simon Ben Boethus, and Hanan Ben Hanan.
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Some of the Gospels link Caiaphas to the arrest and trial of Jesus, after which he was handed over to Roman authorities and crucified.

The Authority said the fragment was believed to have originated in an estate outside Jerusalem which belonged to one of the high priests who served in the Temple. "One can assume that the son of the high priest passed away for some unknown reason at the time when his father still officiated as the high priest in Jerusalem," it said.

The excavations, funded by the Defense Ministry and carried out by the IDF's Civil Administration arm in the West Bank, are defined as salvage operations to keep work on the barrier from destroying or burying archeological artifacts.


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  1.   "Ben Hacohen Hagadol" sounds like Hebrew not Palestinian 09:38  |  PETER SM 07/10/08
  2.   Language on nscription 09:57  |  victor` 07/10/08
  3.   PSM1 Many Pals are probably descended from Jews 10:10  |  Michael 07/10/08
  4.   MICHAEL "probably,maybe,likely" and the ones from Egypt,Syria 10:49  |  PETER SM 07/10/08
  5.   VICTOR .Just waiting for an archeological discovery 10:54  |  PETER SM 07/10/08
  6.   VICTOR .Just waiting for an archeological discovery 10:54  |  PETER SM 07/10/08
  7.   Oh dear Peter SM 4. Not that old rubbish again. 11:56  |  Michael 07/10/08
  8.   inscriptions 12:05  |  margo 07/10/08
  9.   #3 michael tries to prove the earth is a planet 12:09  |  victor hardman 07/10/08
  10.   peter sm 1 12:38  |  potobac 07/10/08
  11.   peter sm 4 12:41  |  potobac 07/10/08
  12.   I can recall this artifcat to have seen before. 14:10  |  Dutch Dirk 07/10/08
  13.   Peter SM. Most `Arabs` are indigenous, not from Arabia. 14:39  |  Michael 07/10/08
  14.   #1 PETER SM 15:45  |  Boycott 07/10/08
  15.   Potobec 15:51  |  Danite 07/10/08
  16.   Michael 15:52  |  Danite 07/10/08
  17.   MIchael 16:01  |  Danite 07/10/08
  18.   MIchael#2 16:04  |  Danite 07/10/08
  19.   It`s a fake 16:18  |  Abu Firas Al Qudsi 07/10/08
  20.   1 sorry peter they spoke aramaic 16:20  |  victor hardman 07/10/08
  21.   Artifact proves the land is jewish . 16:45  |  Joseph.E 07/10/08
  22.   Awesome -- Israel is full of wonders 16:59  |  Gina 07/10/08
  23.   Ancestry of the Palestinians 17:18  |  Ben Alofs 07/10/08
  24.   # 1 petersm 17:25  |  Axel 07/10/08
  25.   In Jericho they discovered the oldest synagogue 17:34  |  Alicia 07/10/08
  26.   # 15 gina 17:35  |  Axel 07/10/08
  27.   # 9 victor paul harris hardman 17:38  |  Axel 07/10/08
  28.   #21 dr ben with more crackpot theories 17:54  |  victor hardman 07/10/08
  29.   Thank you Danite. Very interesting information. 17:57  |  Michael 07/10/08
  30.   11, I beg to differ with you 18:19  |  Shrink 07/10/08
  31.   Axel -- It is my joy and most definitely wonderous 18:36  |  Gina 07/10/08
  32.   Ben Alofs 19:59  |  Danite 07/10/08
  33.   Victor 20:01  |  Danite 07/10/08
  34.   Respond to #6 Victor 20:08  |  Moshe 07/10/08
  35.   Wish it were authentic... 20:40  |  Miransky 07/10/08
  36.   # 1 petersm 21:14  |  Axel 07/10/08
  37.   High Priest sarcophagus 21:15  |  Robert Deutsch 07/10/08
  38.   # 24 alicia 21:19  |  Axel 07/10/08
  39.   Language. 22:02  |  Jack 07/10/08
  40.   Red Hair is also common among the Palestinians. 22:12  |  Jack 07/10/08
  41.   Palestine is derived from Greek and predates Romans 22:21  |  Jack 07/10/08
  42.   Water resources 22:31  |  Jack 07/10/08
  43.   #21 victor hardman, progress needed beyond facile Twain quotes 23:19  |  Ben Alofs 07/10/08
  44.   #30 Danite, the Zionist notion of `exile` is problematic 00:37  |  Ben Alofs 08/10/08
  45.   "Palestinian" origins are WWI 01:12  |  Dean Blake 08/10/08
  46.   Red hair genetic nonsense 01:19  |  Dean Blake 08/10/08
  47.   #38 Axel 01:28  |  Alicia 08/10/08
  48.   There was no time of Jesus, he NEVER existede, a myth, a fiction. 01:40  |  JMK 08/10/08
  49.   48 JMK - Ask Geza Vermes 02:33  |  NOno 08/10/08
  50.   a very exciting find 04:12  |  Smadar 08/10/08
  51.   Red hair genetic nonsense-- look it up 06:40  |  Jack 08/10/08
  52.   # 47 alicia 12:18  |  Axel 08/10/08
  53.   Michael, they say that . . . 13:36  |  Zev Davis 08/10/08
  54.   #44 Ben Alofs 14:12  |  Avi 08/10/08
  55.   `Son of High Priest` 05:43  |  Levani 09/10/08
  56.   # 55 levani 17:43  |  Axel 09/10/08
  57.   Levani, the Israelites are long gone..., 03:44  |  Ben Alofs 10/10/08
  58.   In North America, the Cherokee nation was expelled. 05:21  |  Jack 10/10/08
  59.   #19 Abu Fartas al Krudsi 07:40  |  EGW 10/10/08
  60.   #3 so what they are not jews now conquered jews forced to convert 11:45  |  ralph 10/10/08
  61.   lebonese are arab conquered phenecians but no longer phenecans 11:46  |  ralph 10/10/08
  62.   Jews Deny That Arabs are the Children of Abraham 22:32  |  Monitor 12/10/08
  63.   Acre, Haifa, and Jaffa are Phoenician Cities Too! 22:41  |  Monitor 12/10/08
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