Archaelogical finds confirming biblical narrative or referring to figures from the Bible are rare, and this is believed to be the first discovery of a New Testament verse carved onto an ancient Holy Land shrine, said inscriptions expert Emile Puech, who deciphered the writing. A few Old Testament phrases have been found on monuments, and a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (13:3) is laid into a floor mosaic into the ancient Roman city of Caesarea. Jim Strange, a New Testament scholar from the University of South Florida, said the ancients apparently believed chiseling Scripture into monuments debased sacred words. The widespread use of Bible verses on shrines began only around A.D. 1,000, in Europe, said Strange, who was unconnected with the discovery. The inscription declares that the 60-foot-high monument is the tomb of Simon, a devout Jew who the Bible says cradled the infant Jesus and recognized him as the Messiah.

It’s actually unlikely Simon is buried there; the monument is one of several built for Jerusalem’s aristocracy at the time of Jesus. However, the inscription does back up what until now were scant references to a Byzantine-era belief that three biblical figures — Simon, Zachariah and James, the brother of Jesus — shared the same tomb.

View: Full Article | Source: MSNBC

I always find it interesting when something confirms the facts from the bible. One other I liked was Nineveh, a city described in the Bible, that was huge, and where Jonah was meant to go and tell them they were all doomed. It said:

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”

It was thought to be a myth until a vast city was uncovered, situated on the east bank of the Tigris near modern Mosul, Iraq.

Nineveh reached its full glory under Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, and continued to be the leader of the ancient world until it fell to a coalition of Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians in 612 B.C. and the Assyrian Empire came to an end.

Excavations, begun in the middle of the 19th cent., have revealed an Assyrian city wall with a perimeter of c.7.5 mi (12 km). (As the bible stated, a huge city, for it’s time!) The palaces of Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, containing magnificent sculptures, have been discovered, as well as Assurbanipal’s library, including over 20,000 cuneiform tablets, many relieving the cities name - Nineveh. Which up until that discovery was only ever heard of before in the pages of the bible!

Freaky,thats all it is.

Makes you wonder what else is still lurking out there. Yet to be uncovered.