Updates on Talpiot tomb (lost tomb of Jesus?) [View All]

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Some time ago, I posted a thread here on DU, which got some interesting -- and largely skeptical -- responses:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=214&topic_id=160069&mesg_id=160069

Since then, a rather startling event has occurred on this subject. The Princeton conference on the Talpiot tomb has just concluded in Jerusalem, with some surprising revelations:

-- The widow of the original excavator, Dr. Gat, gave a speech accepting a posthumous award honoring her husband. And she revealed, to everyone's shock, that her husband (who'd been silent on the matter) had always believed it was the tomb of Jesus -- but that he was terrified of speaking out because he expected anti-semitic attacks.

-- the statistician whose calculations supported the contention it was indeed the tomb of Jesus's family, Dr. Audrey Feuerverger (sp?), has had his paper peer-reviewed and accepted by "Annals of Applied Statistics," to be published February.

-- a source within the Israeli Antiquities authority claims that when the tomb was first opened, there was an agreement to suppress the results for fear of an anti-Jewish backlash from the Vatican.

Time Magazine, the Jerusalem Post, and other publications have more below at links.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201070788587&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=811301
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704299,00.html?imw=Y
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/945672.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200475897708&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I am an agnostic, with a scientific background. I believe in free inquiry. And I find it appalling the way both Christians and Israelis have completely closed their minds to what this tomb might mean. They are all terrified. You'd think that mere curiosity would have them all anxious to investigate further.