TEL AVIV – The remains of a small house that can be dated back to the time of Jesus have been found in the past days during excavation works in progress in Nazareth, guided by a team of Israeli archaeologists.

According to the scientists, this is the first house from that era ever uncovered.

The find was announced by professor Yardenna Alexandre, who leads the project on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Alexandre said that the remains have been dated back, with a small margin of error, to around 2000 years ago.

”The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth. It sheds light on common life (in Palestine) in that era”, underlines Alexandre in a press meeting. ”The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period,” the archaeologist added, suggesting that ”Jesus and his childhood friends may have known this house”.

Alexandre pointed out that according to the little written evidence available, including the Gospel, Nazareth at the time was a small Jewish village, which seems to be confirmed by the recent find.

”Until now” she specified, ”a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth, however no settlement remains had been discovered that were attributed to this period”.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority has started some excavation projects in Nazareth close to the Church of the Annunciation, built in 1969 on the remains of three older churches, including one in Byzantine style that dates back to the fourth century AD.

(Source: ANSAmed)