In the stone box
"Jesus: The Family Tomb," by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino, the book (and associated movie) that claims an ancient ossuary found 27 years ago in Israel contained the remains of Jesus and members of his family, along with Mary Magdalene, has caused a sensation, as well as all sorts of comment about the significance of human burial.
While hardly anybody takes seriously the book's claims, the suggestion of newfound material relics of the New Testament story reminds us that such relics have always been important touchstones of medieval Christianity. Consider the legend of the Holy Grail and bits of wood from the True Cross, said to be so common in Europe that the Cross must have been hundreds of feet tall. Only recently, the Shroud of Turin was shown to have been made -- no one knows how -- in the 14th century.
The story is also a reminder of the enduring fascination with the biblical narrative, even to those with no belief in its claims of divinity. At the very least, it's a moneymaker.
