The Caiaphas ossuary
The family, and very probably the man, who presided at Jesus' hearing is documented by an inscribed ossuary from an excavated Jerusalem tomb.
DisputedObject1st century AD
An ornately carved limestone bone-box from a first-century tomb, scratched with the name "Yehosef bar Qayafa" — Joseph son of Caiaphas. Josephus gives the high priest's full name as Joseph Caiaphas, which is what the box says.
Yehosef bar Qayafa — Joseph, son of Caiaphas.
- Found
- A burial cave in the Peace Forest, southern Jerusalem, 1990 — Chance discovery during roadworks; excavated by Zvi Greenhut
- Now held at
- Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- Language
- Aramaic
- How it reached us
- Dug up, or still standing where it was built.
What it shows
The tomb and the inscription are securely provenanced. Whether this particular ossuary held the high priest himself, or a relative of the same family name, is debated among specialists.
How historians use it
Discussed in secular archaeology of Second Temple burial practice; the family's existence is not in question.
In Scripture
Connects to
Sources
- Greenhut, "The Caiaphas Tomb in North Talpiyot, Jerusalem", Atiqot 21 (1992)
- Caiaphas ossuary — overview and bibliography
These summaries are written in English for now. Translations follow.