The Jesus Boat

Late in January 1986, between the ancient harbors of Gennosar and Magdala, two brothers discovered the a faint oval outline of a boat in the muddy lake bed.

THE JESUS BOAT - A harsh summer in 1985 and a lack of rainfall in the fall of that year created a drought in Israel. Water was pumped from the Sea of Galilee to irrigate parched fields. As the water flowed south, the level of the lake took a nosedive creating vast expanses of mud flats. While of great concern to Israel's residents, for whom the lake serves as a primary source of fresh water, the disaster proved a boom for archaeologists.

Late in January 1986, between the ancient harbors of Gennosar and Magdala, two brothers discovered the a faint oval outline of a boat in the muddy lake bed. As one brother later explained: "It was little more than a curving arc of wood, flush with the surface of the ground, but we immediately realized that this was the uppermost plank of a boat that was entirely buried by the mud." Before the water level returned to normal, it was cleared of mud, enclosed in polyurethane foam and floated across the Sea of Galilee, to be placed in a conservation pool at the kibbutz's recently completed Yigal Allon museum. Conservation treatment of the boat consisted of impregnation with a special wax material for 9 1/2 years. In 1995, the pool was drained and the boat was revealed.

According to Carbon 14 dating, The "Jesus Boat" was constructed in about 40 BC and was in use into the 1st century AD. During this period, the lakeside communities witnessed the ministry of Jesus and the unrest of the Jews under Roman control. The Jewish historian of the period, Josephus, described a fierce sea battle between the Jewish rebels of Magdala and the Roman legions in 67 AD in which the Jews were crushed and the beaches "were thick with wrecks." The boat was probably sunk at this time.

The boat is 26 1/2 feet long, 7 1/2 feet wide and 4 1/2 feet high, and it was probably of the Sea of Galilee's largest class of ships. Apparently, a master craftsman built it to last. It was made with different kinds of wood taken from other boats. First, the outside planks were assembled with mortise and tenon joints, then the frames or ribs were nailed inside. Its fore and aft sections were most likely decked and it probably had a mast, meaning it could be both sailed and rowed. Flavius Josephus referred to such ships holding 15 people. Skeletal remains from Galilee during this period indicate males averaged 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 140 pounds. Therefore it was large enough to accommodate Jesus and his 12 disciples.

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