The little lead books that were found some five years ago appear to have an image of Jesus Christ, although the ancient script has not been fully deciphered, as yet. More details are being revealed about this archaeological mystery, but ownership is not one of them. The man who has the books now, Hassan Saida, is refusing to sell them and how he came by them is shrouded in conjecture.
Inherited or smuggled?
Saida has said he inherited them but a different story is emerging. The books were found after heavy rain washed soil away from a heavy stone that hid the entrance to a cave. In the cave were several lead artifacts, including these small books with metal rings holding the leaves together. The man who found them is a poor villager who sold them to Saida's business partner in his haulage firm. Saida obtained them, and took them from Jordan to Israel. He told Nick Pryer, of the Daily Mail, that he and his drivers were smuggling them across the border by wearing them as amulets, or hiding them behind the dashboard (Pryer 2011).
Saida has allowed numerous experts to examine the books and has a few investors and a lawyer involved in the investigation. It has still not been proved that they are genuine, and there may be some understandable reluctance to test the materials they are made of. Some of the books are sealed with the tiny metal rings on all sides, giving rise to speculation that they may be the sealed book mentioned in The Book of Revelations.
Samples sent to the Swiss National Materials Laboratory at Dubendorf, Switzerland have shown that the lead originates from Mediterranean ore, and matches known samples of Roman lead production. One expert believes these books were hidden in the cave following the last Jewish uprising against Roman rule in Jerusalem, and that Jewish followers of the Messiah carried them to safety. Dust and pollen found within the leaves of the books is being tested in order to gauge authenticity, according to a report in The Jordan Times (Luck, 2011).
The face of Christ
Two of the lead leaves have faces embossed into the lead, one with a beard and one without. The words "savior of Israel" have been deciphered but as the language in the books is not part of the known scripts from that time the process of translation will be long, even once all the books have been obtained.
Meanwhile the Jordanian government is pursuing the books, believing they should be under their jurisdiction, and protected in a museum, rather than in private ownership and in danger of being sold to the highest bidder.
Update: Lead Books Pronounced Fake, April 11 2011
Sources
- Luck, T., (2011), Authorities confident old Christian manuscript smuggled to Israel, The Jordan Times, April 4 2011
- Pryer, N., (2011), Is this the first ever portrait of Jesus? The incredible story of 70 ancient books hidden in a cave for nearly 2,000 years, Daily Mail Online, April 3 2011
Sally Anne Lewis - Sally has master's degrees in science and journalism, is fascinated to a degree in most things. Always something to learn.
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