British archaeologist believes to have found Jesus’ house

The house where Jesus Christ grew up in under the care of Mary and Joseph may have been found in Israel. Dr. Ken Dark, a British archaeologist, said the humble first century abode is located in Nazareth, northern Israel, reports Christiantoday.

In an article in Biblical Archaeological Review, Dark said the house was first discovered in the 1880s by nuns at the Sisters of Nazareth convent. However, it was only in 2006 when the experts dated it to the first century, thus giving credence to the claim that it may indeed be the earthly home of the Son of God.

What convinced Dark that the courtyard-style house was indeed the home of Jesus was the fact that "great efforts had been made to encompass the remains of this building within the vaulted cellars of both the Byzantine and Crusader churches, so that it was thereafter protected."

Thus, the professor at the University of Reading concluded that there was "no good reason" why the house was not Jesus'.

Aside from the archaeological evidence, Dark pointed to a text written in 670AD by abbot Adomnàn of the Scottish island monastery at Iona, who describes Frankish bishop Arculf's pilgrimage to Nazareth. In the text, Adomnàn mentioned a church "where once there was the house in which the Lord was nourished in his infancy."

The house believed to be that of Jesus is located beneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent, across the road from the Church of Annunciation. It is cut out of limestone with a series of rooms and a stairway.

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