Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Face of Jesus spotted in Ossuary 2, Talpiot Tomb B

Remember that craze a few years ago for finding Jesus' face on crisps, wardrobe doors and so on?  Well, here is the proof that I am finally going insane and that I have spent far too long staring at pictures of the ossuaries in Talpiot Tomb B.  I've spotted the face of Jesus in one of them, Ossuary 2:


See it?  There it is in the bottom left hand corner of the ossuary.  If you don't believe me, here's a close-up:


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Update on the afterlife of this post (Saturday): This facetious post appeared on Wednesday evening and to my amusement generated extensive comment and publicity from the programme makers themselves.  John McGinley, an employee of Associated Producers, produced a Youtube video announcing "'Face of Jesus' spotted in an ancient Jerusalem tomb by Prof. Mark Goodacre, Duke University".  The video itself does not provide a link to this blog post.  To my even greater amazement, the main Jesus Discovery website then placed a prominent notice just after the advertisement for the programme, at the top of every page, to this effect:
Duke Professor finds Jesus Image on Ossuary
There is a video of the "Face of Jesus" that was spotted by Prof. Mark Goodacre of Duke University on one of our ossuaries that is now circulating on youtube and the internet. Although we find the image entertaining we do not want it to detract from the seriousness of our finds, including the clear image of "Jonah and the fish" and its important significance. http://www.youtube.com/user/jesusfaceimage
There is still no link to the blog post itself, nor does the notice make clear that the people responsible for producing, uploading and circulating the video are Associated Producers themselves.  Since these remarks only make clear that they find the image entertaining, it is possible that this is an ill-judged attempt at mockery, but I am encouraged to see that after they have made frequent unacknowledged corrections to their website on the basis of my critiques, I have finally received a surprisingly prominent name-check!

14 comments:

Tom Verenna said...

It's Colonel Sanders...the same face from the Lead Codices.

Joe Weaks said...

You posted this 3 days late, Mark.

Mark Goodacre said...

Haha, so I definitely am insane, then.

James D. Tabor said...

We actually saw that ourselves in our filming and had a good laugh. And hey, look, we held ourselves back and did not include it either in my academic preliminary report or the book! Talk about restraint!

Mark Goodacre said...

Haha; well done on resisting the temptation :)

James D. Tabor said...

Hey, wait a minute Mark, notice, above the head of "Jesus" is there not a white lamb--Passover! Or is it a white donkey--sign of the messiah. Do you see it?

Here is some better footage with a nice zoom-in:

http://www.youtube.com/user/jesusfaceimage

Mark Goodacre said...

Actually, James, I'm beginning to think that the face looks a bit like yours!

lightseeker said...

No, it's Mary Magdalene with a white flower in her hair!

Jens Knudsen (Sili) said...

The real test will be to see if the face disappears come Sunday.

James D. Tabor said...

I was thinking for sure "Shroud of Turin." It is just that kind of guy. I am much more good looking. Jesus, remember, "had no form or comeliness that we should desire him." Surely you do not say that of me! Have you not seen my photos posted so freely on FB. I learned from Brother Bob here...the art of putting that face forward. Also, remember, "the Lord's hand is not shortened that he can not save," which means Jesus had very normal arms...not long but not short, but just right. I realize we can't see the arms here, at least so far, but that lamb/rabbit/colt/donkey...is that not clear? Patina is a miracle is it not!

James D. Tabor said...

Great observation Sili. Well you know I am over here and I plan to go into the tomb, you know, through that "kitchen floor" that some have suggested, though it is 30 feet above the tomb, and check it all out--when, well you guessed it, "very early Sunday Morning, before it is yet dawn..." And no, I am not MM, just her humble servant...Mara and all that you know.

James D. Tabor said...
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James D. Tabor said...
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Fictionweaver said...

Why would a medieval interpretation of what Jesus was thought to look like, ie, long hair, beard ect., be on his tomb? No one knows what Jesus looked like, but he certainly wouldn't have had long hair and a beard. The fashion in those days was for short hair and clean shaven.