Archaeological Discoveries Related to Jesus

In 1968 a Greek archaeologist named Vassilios Tzaferis oversaw the excavation of a tomb in Jerusalem that yielded the remains of a crucified man. Inside the man’s limestone ossuary (bone box), which dates to the first-century A.D., the excavating team found the heel bones of a man named Yehohanan, and in 1985 Tzaferis wrote an extensive article on what he found.

Yehohanan’s bones were held together by a 7-inch nail—clear evidence of his crucifixion. When pounded into the olive wood by the executioner, the nail hit a hard knot, bent and curled. If not for the knot, then the nail would not have been preserved in the bones. The only way Yehohanan’s executioners could remove his feet from the upright was to take a hatchet and amputate his feet, which they did.

From Tzaferis’ study of Yehohanan’s bones his position on the cross can be generally described as follows. The same nail affixed both his feet to the upright. The nail went through the right heel bone first and then the left. His right foot and his right leg laid on top of his left foot and left leg so that his knees would have been turned to his left. A wooden foot support nailed into the upright enabled Yehohanan to push up his legs in order to breathe easier. His knees were bent and his legs flexed at about a sixty degree angle while his left buttock rested on another wooden support nailed to the upright. This support enabled Yehohanan to lift up his torso to breathe. His arms were stretched out on the crossbeam and nailed just below the wrist—not directly into his hands—and there is evidence that Yehohanan’s legs were fractured.

The Romans left condemned men on the cross for as many as three days that they might die a slow death, but Jewish tradition required burial on the same day, so in order to hasten asphyxiation Roman executioners often broke the legs of the condemned man, preventing him from pushing up with his legs to breathe.

Following his death and the decomposition of his body, Yehohanan’s bones were placed in an elaborate, carved ossuary inside his family’s tomb. An inscription found on a nearby ossuary read, “Simon, builder of the temple.” Another read, “Yehonathan the potter.” These inscriptions suggest that Yehohanan was from a comfortable or prominent family, suggesting that he wasn’t crucified as a common thief. Perhaps he participated in some activity considered treasonous by the Romans, but whatever his crime, the evidence of his crucifixion has provided incredible first-hand insight into the crucifixion of our Lord as recorded in Scripture.

Daniel McCabe