Paul Calvert spoke with Dudi Mevorach from the Israel Museum, about the development of Christianity in the Holy Land.

Dudi: It's a huge find. It was found many years ago.

We have chosen to exhibit these two finds, one next to the other, although they are more than 100 years apart in time, because they relate to this phenomenal story. So not only one exhibit, or person, but two important historical persons that are shown on archaeological finds. It's really unique.

Paul: This is the bad guy part of the museum is it?

Dudi: This is not only the bad guy, it's also the bad action, because right next to them we exhibit another unique find. It's also coming from an ossuary, but this time a very plain ossuary; totally not decorated and found in a tomb in Jerusalem.

The inscription on it says "Yehohanan Son of Hagakol." We don't know who Yehohanan was, but we do know that he was crucified.

This skeleton that was found inside had a huge iron nail driven through its heel, and this is the only tangible evidence, or find, of crucifixion in the world, although Romans have crucified thousands, if not more people for severe crimes of treason, or theft, or other severe crimes. We have never found in excavations or otherwise any skeleton of a crucified person.

This is in Jerusalem in the times of Jesus, so it's a hugely important find. Although we don't know what the crime of Yehohanan was, (Yehohanan is John), it evidently was a bad enough crime to be executed in such a torturous way as crucifixion was.

It also shows the way he was crucified is different from what we know through the artistic later descriptions. You can see in the drawing exhibited next to it that his feet were nailed to the side of the beam and not to the front of the beam, one on top of the other. Each foot was nailed separately to the side of the beam. We do not know why this specific nail was not extracted from the skeleton and taken elsewhere, or in other words, we don't know why we have never found any nails in the skeletons of people who were crucified.

Caiaphas Ossuary

One of the reasons may be that things related to death were many times used as amulets to protect against death, so maybe nails were used in this way in antiquity. We do know that nails are used as amulets to today.

Paul: Would that be like we use a cross as a Christian? They would put a nail around themselves to protect themselves?

Dudi: Exactly, it is the same. You can see that until today people wear nails to remember crucifixion. So wearing crosses goes to the same practice of remembering that moment and being protected by it.

So it is three unique exhibits that relate to that very crucial moment, or trial and crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem. We have seen several finds that relate to biblical times. Old Testament times that relate to the time of Jesus, directly to the Temple, or to the trial and crucifixion.

We are taking a leap now 300 or 400 years forward to early Christianity, as it formed here in the Holy Land, or actually to the transformation of this land to be the Holy Land.

In the 4th century the rediscovery of Golgotha and the true cross, and the empire turning Christian the land of Israel, becomes the Holy Land and draws huge attention and a huge number of people, and huge pilgrimage that continues until today, and with it a huge development.