January 27, 2024

Archaeological Discoveries Related to Jesus:

Series–Countdown of the Top Ten

Have you heard about the Jesus Boat?

It was discovered in 1986 on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee after the water level of the lake had dropped very low due to drought.

This ancient boat dates to the first century B.C. or the first half of the first century A.D. based on nails found in the boat, the hull’s construction techniques and carbon-14 dating. Scientists successfully removed the boat from the mud that had fortunately minimized its decay over the millennium (removing it took twelve days), and then they cleaned it, submerged it in wax for twelve years to prevent any future decay, and prepared it for display at a museum very near where it was first discovered by two brothers who were fisherman as well as amateur archaeologists.

The boat measures 27 feet long, 7½ feet wide and a little over 4 feet in depth with room for four rowers and at least ten to fifteen other occupants. Could this have been the disciples’ boat?

Certainly! It’s the only ancient boat ever discovered in the Sea of Galilee, but without any evidence we are left to say only that it is of the type used by Peter, Andrew, James and John for fishing and additionally for transportation from one side of the lake to another.

—Daniel McCabe