The Israel Antiquities Authority conducted an archaeological excavation that has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman period were discovered in an excavation, which was carried out prior to the construction of the “International Marian Center of Nazareth” by the the Association Mary of Nazareth, next to the Church of the Annunciation.

In the middle of these churches is a cave that was already ascribed in antiquity to the house of Jesus’ family. Many storage pits and cisterns, some of which date to the Early Roman period, were found in the compound of the Church of the Annunciation.

The “Association Mary of Nazareth” intends on conserving and presenting the remains of the newly discovered house inside the building planned for the “International Marian Center of Nazareth”.

Residence from the Time of Jesus Discovered in Nazareth

According to the New Testament, Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived in Nazareth together with her husband Joseph. It was there that she also received the revelation by the Angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God. The New Testament mentions that Jesus himself grew up in Nazareth.

In 1969 the Church of the Annunciation was erected in the spot that the Catholic faith identified with the house of Mary. It was built atop the remains of three earlier churches, the oldest of which is ascribed to the Byzantine period (the fourth century CE). In light of the plans to build there, the Israel Antiquities Authority recently undertook a small scale archaeological excavation close to the church, which resulted in the exposure of the structure.

According to Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus. The building that was found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period. From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century CE Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period”.

In the excavation a large broad wall that dates to the Mamluk period (the fifteenth century CE) was exposed that was constructed on top of and “utilized” the walls of an ancinet building. This earlier building consisted of two rooms and a courtyard in which there was a rock-hewn cistern into which the rainwater was conveyed. The artifacts recovered from inside the building were few and mostly included fragments of pottery vessels from the Early Roman period (the first and second centuries CE). In addition, several fragments of chalk vessels were found, which were only used by Jews in this period because such vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean.

Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery sherds from the Early Roman period were found inside it. The excavator, Yardenna Alexandre, said, “Based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67 CE”.

In a few of the archaeological excavations that were carried out in this crowded city, a number of burial caves dating to the Early Roman period were exposed that are situated close to the inhabited area. The modern Church of the Annunciation was constructed in the heart of Nazareth, above the Crusader Church of the Annunciation and atop the ruins of a church from the Byzantine period.

December 2009, Archaeologists unveiled the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the New Testament period when Jesus lived there as a boy. Nazareth is the town where Christian tradition alleges Jesus grew up. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority stated workers uncovered the first signs of the dwelling in the summer, but it became clear only that it was a structure from the era of Jesus.

The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about 1.6 hectares. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, stated it was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders.
Alexandre’s team found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which was used by Jews at the time to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels at the time for control of the area. The grotto would have hid around six people for a few hours. Similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee such as the nearby biblical village of Cana, which did witness battle between Jews and Romans. However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth’s Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value at the time. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities.

Alexandre’s team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian centre, just meters away from a Basilica. It was not clear how big the dwelling is, however Alexandre’s team have uncovered about 85 square metres of the house, which may have been for an extended family and could be much larger.

As workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls, archaeologists found clay and chalk vessels which were likely used by Galilean Jews of the time. Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a “simple Jewish family.” The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used by Jews at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels. The shards date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.. The determination was made by comparing the findings to shards and remains found in other parts of the Galilee typical of that period.

The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the family who lived in the dwelling were “simple,” since the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers. The only other artifacts that archeologists have found in the Nazareth area from the time of Jesus are ancient burial caves outside the hamlet, providing a rough idea of the village’s population at the time.

Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become a part of a new international Christian centre being constructed close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group. Alexandre stated limited space and population density in Nazareth means it is unlikely that archeologists can carry out any further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus’ boyhood home may have looked like.