There is none like You (part 2)

Continuing from the previous post, this is a photo of the facade of the tomb, with the 'Chevron' symbol on top, taken in 1980 by Jewish archaeologist Amos Kloner. Therefore, if anyone thinks that this whole site is a forgery, well, it is not. It is a closely supervised, authorised Israeli archaeological site except for a 'window period' between the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath and Sunday morning when, any of the treasures could have been stolen.

However, the verdict is out even before the documentary was shown. Most scholars have discredited the findings. The filmmakers were made to look unprofessional. Reminds me of my practice of evidence based medicine. Every now and then, someone will get into the spotlight by claiming that his medicine works on a certain disease without going through proper research trials. For most of us who are not able to watch the documentary just yet, here's a detailed account from a blog as the 'Lost Tomb of Jesus' show was televised live on that day.

This dramatic documentary is beginning to sound like an episode from the CSI. Being in the entertainment business, some commentators are already poking fun at the their colleagues. Larry King wonders if this might be the end of Easter bunny. Jon Stewart, the comedian host in the Daily Show, thinks if Our Father in Heaven has a grandson, he must be the most spoiled kid in town! Many people are clearly upset by the Discovery Channel although I don't think it will lead to any street demonstrations or mass killing but a TV evangelist in America is unable to hide his anger when he said, 'Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular. I like children and family; they like abortion!'

This is even more controversial than the da Vinci Code (dah benci kut!) movie since James Cameron's assertion is that this is for real.

OK, let's go back to the findings. Of all the statistical, DNA forensics and patina testings, I would say that the patina test is the most interesting. The producers have added a 'dramatic' twist to the show by saying that the tenth missing ossuary actually belonged to the 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus' ossuary (pictured below) discovered earlier. The patina 'fingerprinting' test, which is a relatively new technique, scans samples on stone surfaces, in this case samples from ossuaries taken at random from a dozen tombs from various locations in the Jerusalem area, with an electron microscope to reveal a chemical spectrum of essential elements such as magnesium, aluminum, phosphorus, potassium, titanium and iron. The initial results indicated that the chemical spectrum of the James ossuary strongly “echoed” those of the Talpiot wall surfaces and its ossuaries. I wonder whether there is a panel of physicists to review this.



The hypothesis that the James ossuary belongs to the Talpiot tomb has already been discounted by most scholars as the dimensions of the missing ossuary is different from the one documented (65 x 25 x 30 in the Jesus ossuary vs 57.5 x 25 x 30 in the James ossuary) and it is not plain as noted in the Talpiot excavation. However, James Tabor in his blog, has pointed out that the initial excavation findings reveal only a very faint rosette pattern which is due to accumulation of earth which is not initially brushed off yet. Furthermore, he gave an example of certain ossuaries (pictured below), which is quite elaborately decorated and not 'plain' as in the James ossuary.


However, the statistical findings that this is a unique cluster of names not to be found elsewhere fail to convince me. The odds can be 1 in 100, 1 in 600 or 1 in 1000 or whatever. The findings were only based on certain assumptions in the calculation done by Andrey Feuerverger from the University of Toronto. For example, it is assumed by the producers that, Mariamme e Mara refers to Mary Magdalene. This will markedly affect the calculations. If this assumption is wrong, I'm sorry to say, the whole equation will collapse like a house of cards.

Speaking from everyday experience, what are the chances of meeting your friend at a train station in London? Have you ever found a word you require by the first flip of a dictionary? (Well I have!). What's the probability of seeing 3 patients with the same name on the same day in a clinic? I've actually seen them - their names are very common here, let's say as common as Tan Ah Chong. This is just my personal testimony.

What’s the probability of the Jesus family having a tomb in Jerusalem when it should most likely be in Nazareth, his birthplace? – the answer is we don’t have the statistical figures to work on, as we are looking from a purely historical and cultural point of view. Therefore, there is not going to be an absolute answer to this whole issue as far as statistics is concerned and people are going to argue till the cows come home. Statisticians are only there for window dressing and to give a rough estimate.

The DNA test is also unconvincing although it is not the fault of the producers (they could not find bone fragments from other ossuaries. The bones were all buried, on discovery, according to Jewish law). The experts are only able to extract mitochondrial DNA, and not the nucleus, and it is found that the ones in the Jesus and Mariamme ossuaries are not related. The producers are quick to jump in and say that it may probably mean that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and they had a son named Judas. This is predetermined mindset and it has angered many people. I hope they would retract their assumption to defuse the widespread furore. It reminds me of Dato' Tan Chin Nam's (Tan and Tan Development magnate) book title named 'Never Say I Assume!'

In conclusion, I'm more interested in the intellectual debate that will prevail, rather than assumptions and wild accusations from both sides.

Clearly, an independent team needs to be sent there to verify or discount the patina test. They need to take more samples from other ossuaries in the Talpiot area. This patina test is quite confusing – and as most of us have not heard of this technology before, unlike carbon dating. The producers have said that it is a match but how good a match? It is hoped that more random sampling will be done, and hopefully there will be more refined patina testing machines to clear the issue for the sake of analytical minded people like me! The tomb, itself, which has been sealed by the Israeli authority needs to be reopened and reexamined. More authoritative epigraphical work needs to be done and the final consensus should be made known.

Meanwhile, back in the ICU, the cardiac monitor was showing ventricular fibrillation now. Life was slowly sapping out of the baby. I remember holding Merilynn a few days before she collapsed. She was enjoying the escalator ride up and down at the hospital where she was admitted. At a certain moment, she seemed to be pointing to the large window towards the sky for a very long time. Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel after all!