British archaeologists say a collection of ancient books discovered in a cave in Jordan could be the greatest thing since the Dead Sea Scrolls.
“This ancient collection of 70 tiny books…could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity. Academics are divided as to their authenticity but say that if verified, they could prove…pivotal.
Fox News takes a look at what makes these books so special.
“Now take a look, here’s a picture. The books are made of leaded metal. They’re embedded with images, symbols, and words that appear to refer to the Messiah, the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Many of the books are sealed, meaning they could be the lost collection of sealed codices mentioned in the book of Revelation.”
But with all the hype comes drama. The Periscope Post reports- the books were discovered by a Jordanian bedouin – but that’s not who owns them today.
“…the books were subsequently acquired by Hassan Saeda, an Israeli Bedouin farmer in the Galilee, who still has possession of them and is keeping them in hiding. Farmer Saeda says they were found by his great-grandfather, and have been in his family for 100 years. The Jordanian government has vowed to use ‘all means at its disposal’ to recover the artifacts.”
So are the books worth the effort? According to The Telegraph, some experts aren’t so convinced.
“Israeli archaeological sources have been dismissive of the find, suggesting that Mr Saeda has appeared ‘every few years’ trying to sell the codices. They said examinations had shown them to be forgeries.”
But The BBC’s religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott interviewed on expert who says- the evidence speaks for itself.
“There have been notorious forgeries in recent years but Professor Davis says though he can’t be sure how old these books are, they’re not fakes. Tests on the deeply corroded lead show the books were not made recently. And the text is consistent with early Christianity.”
Finally- Gawker finds the whole thing a little theatrical- saying, the story sounds like a prequel to The Da Vinci Code.
“What is in them, exactly? According to Raiders of the Lost Ark, probably some kind face-melting ghost. But besides that, almost anything (slash fan-fiction, probably). Ah, well. As long as Robert Langdon is in them I’ll still read them.”
According to The Examiner, if the books are authentic- they’ll be the earliest Christian writings ever discovered.
