Researchers say they have found 70 ancient metal books in a cave in Jordan.
At the same location as the tablets, scrolls, tablets, and other artifacts, including an incense bowl, were also discovered.
Photo credit: David Elkington – Rex Features.
The lead pages of these 70 ancient books, whose wire-bound lead pages are bound together, could reveal some of Christianity’s earliest mysteries.
Academics disagree about whether or not they are true, but if they are, they could be just as important as the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A portion of the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Photo credit @AP
Images, symbols, and words that appear to refer to the Messiah and, possibly, the Crucifixion and Resurrection can be found on pages that are about the size of a credit card.
The fact that many of the books are sealed adds to the mystery and leads academics to believe they are the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
Five years ago, the books were discovered in a cave in a remote part of Jordan.
The Jordanian cave where the artifacts were found – Photo credit: David Elkington – Rex Features
It is known that Christian refugees fled Jerusalem in 70AD.
There have previously been important documents from the same era found there.
Some of the books may be from the first century AD, according to preliminary metallurgical tests.
This estimate is based on the type of corrosion that has occurred, which experts believe cannot be artificially created.
If the dates are accurate, the books are among the earliest Christian writings before St. Paul’s writings.
Scholars are excited about the possibility that they could include contemporary accounts of Jesus’ final years, but their enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that experts have previously been fooled by sophisticated fakes.
The books could be “the major discovery of Christian history,” according to British scholar of ancient religious history and archaeology David Elkington, who is one of the few to have examined them.
He stated, “It is a staggering thought that we have held these objects that might have been held by the early saints of the Church.”
Photo credit: David Elkington – Rex Features
However, the books’ riddles go beyond the mysteries contained within their ancient pages.
Their current whereabouts are also somewhat baffling.
The hoard was subsequently acquired by an Israeli Bedouin, who is said to have illegally smuggled them across the border into Israel, where they remain, following their discovery by a Bedouin from Jordan.
However, the collection is currently being repatriated and protected at the highest levels by the Jordanian government.
According to Philip Davies, Sheffield University’s emeritus professor of biblical studies, there is strong evidence that the books have a Christian origin in the form of plates carved into a picture map of the holy city of Jerusalem.
He stated, “I was dumbstruck as soon as I saw that.”
I thought that was so clearly a Christian image.
In the foreground, there is a cross; behind it is what appears to be Jesus’ tomb, a small building with an opening, and behind that are the city walls.
Photo credit: David Elkington – Rex Features
On additional pages of these books, walls are also depicted, almost certainly referring to Jerusalem.
Outside of the city walls, there is a Christian crucifixion taking place.’
The British team in charge of making the discovery is worried that the current Israeli “keeper” might want to sell some of the books on the black market or, even worse, destroy them.
However, the owner of the books disputes the allegations and asserts that they have belonged to his family for a century.
Dr. Margaret Barker, who served as the Society for Old Testament Study’s president in the past, stated:A book that was sealed and only the Messiah could open is described in the Revelation.
Photo credit: David Elkington – Rex Features
Other texts from the time tell of sealed wisdom books and a secret tradition that Jesus passed on to his closest disciples.
This discovery was made in that setting.
According to Professor Davies, the imagery certainly raises the possibility of a Hebrew-Christian origin, and if this is the case, these codices are likely to shed significant new light on a significant but little-known period of history.
Mr. Elkington, who is in charge of British efforts to return the books to Jordan, stated:For the benefit of the collection’s owners as well as a potential international audience, it is essential that it be recovered intact and secured in the best possible conditions.
According to the Department of Antiquities (DoA) the metal that were said to have been discovered in a cave in northern Jordan between 2005 and 2007 have been found to be fakes and are a kind of expertly executed “professional” forgery.
Jamhawi told The Jordan Times on Saturday, “This advanced counterfeit has created confusion as ancient materials were used, such as lead and stones, and inscribing them with ancient look-alike texts and drawings that are hard to test.”
According to the director, in response, the DoA issued a press release on March 9, 2017, confirming that additional investigation was required to verify the authenticity of the writings and drawings in addition to the materials.
The books were examined by a committee of researchers and epigraphists assembled by the department, and their authenticity was confirmed.
The taskforce came to the conclusion in its report that the archaeological examination demonstrated that the metal books were fake and worthless because they contained “irrelevant old letters and images” and that the manufacturer had no prior knowledge of ancient inscriptions, their technical details, or their religious significance.
Also last year, the DoA put together a national team of experts and researchers to look at the cave where the codices were supposedly found.
They found no connection between the cave and the codices, especially since no holes in the cave’s walls were found.
At the time, the department said that British scientist David Elkington’s findings were unfounded.
They stressed that the cave was not found and that the pictures he had had nothing to do with the cave that was visited, so his claim that the codices were original was untrue.
Since 2009, David and Jennifer Elkington have led a campaign to gain international recognition for the manuscripts, but other scholars have also refuted their claims, according to a BBC report.
