In 1980, a discovery was made under the rubble of a construction site in Jerusalem--a tomb containing the ossuaries of Yeshua, Mary, Mary and Joseph, as well as "Judah, son of Yeshua"....Could this be the tomb of Jesus and Mary Magdaline? and if so they must have been married and had a son.....This should be the story of the century (if proven to be true). It's the writing style and faulty scholarship that really ruined this book for me. The authors were overly-dramatic and dazzled by their subject matter when archaeology is something to be taken seriously and it would have been enough if they could have stood behind their science and let the story sparkle on its own. Even though they did do DNA testing, science demands MORE testing. They have shown that their hypothesis is POSSIBLE but they didn't prove it. ( )

There are dozens of investigative books on Jesus-Jesus as a myth who never lived, Jesus who disappeared for a number of years before he came back, speculations on his whereabouts during his `disappearance', and his emergence and possible impact. For the faithful, none of this matter; they believe they know him. For the thinker, it matters, especially because of the contradicting stories and the discovery of later evidences. Clearly, there is an interest in Jesus from lay people as well as scholars.

This is a compelling book that cannot be dismissed. It is written after painstaking investigation. It reads like a detective work, a treat for any interested reader. The brilliant Forward by James Cameron must be read first. While the authors' conclusions may not be the ultimate proofs (it is not possible to `prove' anything that happened thousands of years ago `conclusively') their research work of stunning proportion is remarkable. The reader can come to his/her own conclusions.

It is worth noting that there are books on the discovery of Jesus' and his family members' tombs in and near Kashmir, India. The tomb of Moses is also in the same area, according to these sources. ( )

This books tells of the story of the discovery of the Talpiot Tomb (a rock-cut tomb discovered in 1980 in East Jerusalem) that makes the argument that the tomb is that of Jesus and his “family”. It is based on a documentary by Canadian film director James Cameron that was released on the Discovery Channel in March 2007. This book, and the documentary have been the subject of much controversy.

The Jesus Family Tomb reads well, as one would expect from a host of a History Channel show. However, just as one would expect from the host of History Channel show, the book is short on analysis, fact, or believability. Some claims made in the book are outright lies, others distortions, and, not surprisingly, some are true. It is by the careful weaving of these claims that the authors keep from making themselves sound absurd. The worst part of the book is the statistical "analysis" of the names on the tomb. Unfortunately for the authors, this is also one of the main pieces of evidence for their claims.

Have the authors even made a prima facia case that this is the tomb of Jesus and his family? No. Is this the tomb of Jesus? Who knows. Does it matter? Not to anyone with even a tenuous grip on rationality. ( )