Uncovering the Birth of Christianity: Discovery Presents "The Resurrection Tomb Mystery"

World Premiere Event Special Thursday, April 12 at 10pm e/p

(Silver Spring, Md.) Could an image and inscription found in a Jerusalem tomb constitute the oldest Christian art ever discovered and hold the key to the mystery of Jesus' earliest followers? The answers lay in Discovery's world premiere event special THE RESURRECTION TOMB MYSTERY airing Thursday, April 12 at 10pm e/p. The revealing film probes what the concept of resurrection meant to the first followers of Jesus, offering a dramatic witness to what the people who knew Jesus actually believed.

In a thrilling CSI-style archeological/theological study, filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and Professor James D. Tabor, with the permission of the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA), use a specialized robotic camera to explore the tomb's contents, capturing incredible images of early Christian art including a depiction of Jonah being spat out by a whale. This art predates the earliest Christian symbol in the catacombs of Rome by at least 200 years, and is contemporary with Jesus' apostles.

In addition to THE RESURRECTION TOMB MYSTERY, Jacobovici and Tabor have detailed their findings in their new book The Jesus Discovery http://books.simonandschuster.com/Jesus-Discovery/Simcha-Jacobovici/9781451650402

"The discovery effectively pushes back the date on early Christian archaeological evidence by two hundred years. More significantly, it takes us back into the lifetime of Jesus himself providing incredible insight into strong, early beliefs in the Resurrection," said Jacobovici.

The newly examined tomb, dubbed the "Patio Tomb" sits 200 feet away from the so-called "Jesus Family Tomb." In 2007 this tomb received international attention with Jacobovici's revelation that it contained ossuaries inscribed with names associated with Jesus and his immediate family. Critics dismissed the synchronicity of names as mere coincidence. Tabor and Jacobovici argue THE RESURRECTION TOMB MYSTERY reopens the historical discussion of the "Jesus Family Tomb" in context with the contemporary Patio Tomb, with its graphic evidence of belief in the resurrection of Jesus.