found a vase with the first written reference to Christ The finding, discovered in the waters of the Mediterranean, has a written "Through Christ the magician" and dates back to before 50 AD
MADRID (SPAIN) - The waters of the Mediterranean returned an ancient vase from Asia Minor and dated first century BC. The finding bears an inscription in greek: "Dia Christou or goistais.
The writing dates back to before 50 AD, according to experts could be translated: "For Christ the magician". The French archaeologist Franck Goddio fascinating hypothesis is that this is the earliest reference to Jesus ever found. "Christ was considered the greatest exponent of white magic," said Goddio the English newspaper "El Mundo".
DATING - And the English newspaper recalled that the first letter of St. Paul in which the apostle refers to his teacher is dated 51 AD Therefore, if the Egyptologists' calculations are correct, the written references to Christ should be moved back at least a year. The vessel is on Wednesday in the English capital, where he will be on display until November 26 in the exhibition "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" exhibition at the Matadero Legazpi. For transportation of the exhibit, which traveled along with a team of Egyptologists and members of the government of Cairo, at which the vessel belongs, have been set up tight security. For many years Goddio, born in Casablanca in 1947 and president of the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology, plumbs the depths of the stretch of coast in front of Alexandria and Aboukir Bay, near the delta of the Nile.
His theory is that the ancient cities of this region of Egypt, on all Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great between 332 and 331 BC, are sunk into the sea due to the weight of the magnificent temples and palaces built on land muddy. Another theory comes to an earthquake. But if uncertainty remains about the causes, underwater exploration led by Goddio in nearly two decades of work have led to extraordinary discoveries. The first discoveries date back to 1996, but it was in 2000 that the archaeologist who announced to the world less than 10 feet below the surface of the sea was a large city, and that in his temples and monuments located by electronic sensors had belonged to Alexandria.
FINDS - Since the discovery of remains have never been broken: the ground were reported statues of Isis and granite sphinxes, up to this vessel and those words about Christ, called the magician. One hypothesis is that the vessel was used in divination rituals: you pour the oil, and the "curve" drawn from the liquid were performed by a haruspex. The inscription, Christ could be the name of the celebrant, or may indicate the Messiah by the wizard invoked to legitimize his supernatural powers. "The port of Alexandria was related to Palestine - says Goddio fact - and it is very likely that Egypt knew of the existence of Christ and the miracles that were allocated. " The other hypothesis is that the vase was a gift for a man named Christos, maybe members of a group called ogoistais, in reference to a deity called the Ogo. Sure, it's much less evocative.
Source: Corriere.it
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