Nazareth house dates to Jesus' time

NAZARETH, Israel (BP) — Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time Jesus lived in the area, making it the only known structure to portray what His home may have looked like.

Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority, unveiled the finding to reporters Dec. 21, revealing that workers had uncovered the first signs of the dwelling during the summer as they were digging up the courtyard of a former convent, according to the Associated Press.

The workers were making room for the construction of the International Center of Mary of Nazareth on the site, which is just yards away from the Church of the Annunciation, the location where Mary is believed to have received word of Jesus’ impending birth.

Archeologists believe Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres, AP said, and it was populated by Jews of modest means whose dwellings included camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders.

Alexandre said the stone house, which consists of at least four rooms, a courtyard, a water cistern, and a small grotto, may have been a place where Jesus and His cousins and friends played as children.