Ossuaries and the Burials of Jesus and James is a lecture to be presented by Professor Jodi Magness, Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism, UNC Chapel Hill. The event will take place on Monday, September 11 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Kiva Auditorium on UNM’s campus. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for a downloadable PDF flyer about the event.

In 2002, an ossuary inscribed “James son of Joseph brother of Jesus” surfaced in the hands of a private collector. A few years later, a Discovery Channel documentary and related book claimed that the tomb of Jesus and his family has been found in Jerusalem. In this slide-illustrated lecture, we examine the validity of these sensational claims in light of archaeological and historical evidence for ancient Jewish tombs and burial customs in Jerusalem, including the burials of Jesus and his brother James.

Professor Magness is a VP of the Archaeological Institute of America and archaeologist for the National Geographic IMAX 3D movie, Jerusalem.  The free lecture is hosted by UNM’s International Studies Institute and is supported in part by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico.