A SUBURB of Jerusalem is the unlikely location of the last resting place of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only that, his wife Mary Magdalene and his son 鈥淛udah鈥 were entombed with him.
That鈥檚 the sensational claim made in a Discovery Channel documentary and reported all over the world. But what鈥檚 the scientific evidence behind it?
Mitochondrial DNA has been recovered from two ossuaries, which are inscribed with names but do not contain any bones. The documentary director, Simcha Jacobovici, says the analysis shows that the occupants of the boxes inscribed 鈥淛esus鈥 and 鈥淢ariamne鈥 (said to be a name for Mary Magdalene) are not related on the mother鈥檚 side. From this he concludes that the two were probably husband and wife. DNA analysis has not been conducted on the purported son, but since mitochondria are inherited maternally, it would not be possible to determine if 鈥淛udah鈥 was the son of 鈥淛esus鈥.
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The programme also advances a statistical argument on the likelihood of these three names being found in the same tomb. The argument that this means it is Jesus鈥檚 tomb is far-fetched, says David Mevorah of the Israel museum, Jerusalem.
