JERUSALEM -- An ornate stone burial box believed to have contained the bones of a high priest who plotted Jesus' arrest has been sealed shut after eager Christian pilgrims tried to open it to get a look.
Officials at the Israel Museum revealed Monday that they had taken the step to protect the ossuary, one of the few artifacts linked to the story of Jesus' crucifixion.It is a centerpiece of the museum's new exhibition on early Christianity to mark the year 2000, when Christian tourists are expected to pour into the Holy Land for millennium celebrations.
Decorated with floral designs chiseled in the smooth white limestone, the ossuary held the remains of Joseph Caiaphas, the Judean high priest appointed by the Romans.
According to Christian tradition, Caiaphas, acting on a tip from Jesus' disciple Judas, sent his Temple guards to arrest Jesus, who had predicted the destruction of the Temple and the overthrow of the priestly hierarchy.
The burial box was unearthed about five years ago when a tractor fell into a cave while building a promenade overlooking Jerusalem's walled Old City. It was near the biblical site know as the "Hill of Evil Council," where priests met in Caiaphas' house to plot the arrest of Jesus and recommend that he be killed after being found guilty of blasphemy.
The bones were reburied in a valley near Jerusalem and, out of respect for Orthodox Jews who oppose the practice, have never been on display in the museum, said David Mevorah, curator of the exhibit.
Groups of Christian pilgrims have gathered in front of the ossuary and prayed, many overcome with emotion at being in contact with artifacts linked so directly to Jesus. Some have tried to open the box.
"The lid was broken several times," said Mevorah. "We have now had to fortify it with epoxy resin because people coming here, apart from praying sometimes, try to open it and see if the bones or the relics are still here.
"It is now closed and cannot be opened," he told reporters.
The ossuary, about the size of an airline carry-on bag, is displayed next to the only artifact confirming the existence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, or governor, of Judea who passed the death sentence against Jesus. It is a dedication tablet for a building found in the seaside ruins of Caesaria in northern Israel.
Going on display later this year will be a replica of the only artifact confirming the Roman practice of crucifixion -- an ankle bone with an iron nail the size of a railroad spike sticking through it.
"This is the only archaeological evidence in the world of crucifixion," said Mevorah, who said the ankle had been nailed through the side and not from the front as in depictions of Jesus' crucifixion.
The remains are believed to belong to a man named Yonathan Ben Hagkol. Little is known about the victim, except that he was buried in the same tomb with the ossuary of a man said to be Simon, builder of the Jewish Temple, and may have been a member of the same family.
Museum officials said they have been reluctant to display the crucifixion relic in the past, fearing it would reignite the controversy over who was to blame for Jesus' death or that the artifact would be incorrectly linked to Jesus himself.
Museum director James Snyder said a special path had been established to guide Christian pilgrims through the museum so they will be able to see exhibits most closely related to biblical accounts. He said security was adequate to protect the artifacts.