• The Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Malta is organising a public lecture by Prof. Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The lecture is being held at University Campus on Friday 14th December at 6pm. Entrance is free of charge and open to the general public.

    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.