All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.Mysteries.of.Jesus.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup

From the time of jesus
and his life,

what do we have
for historic accounts?

Dieck: This is
a very sacred place.

Normally, no one is allowed
to come here.

That's incredible.

That person right there,
they have no clue.

Jesus could've been born
right here.

This could be it.

Who said
archaeology was boring?

Woo-hoo!

Downright terrifying.

Oh, boy.

Wow, look at that!

It is just stacked
with skulls and bones.

♪

♪

jesus christ.

Perhaps you've heard of him,

the key figure of the largest
religion on the planet,

worshipped by more than
2 billion people.

His story is one of miracles
but also of mysteries,

specifically the early part
of his life.

In fact, in the roughly 30 years
between his birth

and his baptism,
virtually nothing is written

about the most
influential person in history.

But now experts equipped
with new technology

are beginning to unravel
the secrets of jesus.

One archaeologist believes
he's made a discovery

that could change everything
we think we know

about his celebrated birth,
and biblical historians

believe that secrets buried
in the gospels

could shed light on
the lost years of his childhood.

I'm headed to the holy land

on an expedition
both human and divine.

By examining clues and relics

at the most sacred sites
in christianity,

I hope to discover
the true origin story of jesus.

My name is josh gates...

Look! [ laughs ]

...Explorer, adventurer...

That is it!

...And a guy who ends up
in some very strange situations.

Ah, ah, aah, haa!

With a degree in archaeology

and a passion
for the unexplained,

I travel to the ends
of the earth,

investigating
the greatest legends in history.

Okay, let's punch it.

This is "expedition unknown."

-- captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

hi, there.

Well, at first glance,

I could be just about
anywhere right now,

in somebody's basement or poking
around in a city sewer,

and in a sense, that would be
correct because for years,

it was believed that
the tunnels underneath me

were just drainage
for rainwater,

but since then, archaeologists
have pieced together

a layer cake of history here,

from biblical times all the way
up to the modern world.

There, 30 feet above us,
are thousands of people

and millions of tons
of stone and marble

as well as one of the most
venerated sites in the world.

[ choir singing in latin ]

♪

welcome to jerusalem's church
of the holy sepulchre,

the most hallowed
christian shrine on earth.

According to tradition,
this is the very location

where jesus died
and was buried.

The church is, in a word,
breathtaking.

The very air that hangs inside

seems infused
with something holy,

but this is also
a place of mystery

because as sacred
as this structure is,

nothing that you see here today
existed in the time of jesus.

The bible tells us that jesus
was crucified

on a barren hill
called golgotha.

His body was then laid out
on a stone

before being placed
in a rock-cut tomb.

Over 300 years later when
christianity spread to rome,

the emperor constantine
dispatched his mother, helena,

to the holy land
to identify the exact site.

She was led here.

The church she placed here
was destroyed

and rebuilt over the centuries
as jerusalem

changed hands between
christians, moors and jews.

This is, religiously speaking,
a high-traffic area.

Today, the top of
the crucifixion hill

is under the floor
of the church.

One can also place
their hands on the stone

where jesus' body was laid out.

A few hundred feet away still
inside the massive building

is the tomb itself,
the place where scripture says

jesus was interred
for three days

before rising from the dead.

With so much destruction
and renovation here,

the question
has always persisted,

was this church built
in the right spot?

Well, a recent excavation here

might just answer that question
once and for all.

The tomb had been badly
weathered by time

and millions of visitors,
so in 2016,

scientists were called in
to do an emergency restoration.

They were given just 60 hours
to peer beneath the tomb

for the first time in centuries.

Beneath a layer of fill,
they found a piece of marble

stamped with a cross
from the time of the crusades,

deeper down, even older marble
from the time of constantine,

and at the bottom, they found
the original limestone bed,

confirming the existence
of a burial cave.

All of this supports the claim
that constantine and helena

built on the right spot

and that this may well have been
the true tomb of jesus christ.

♪

♪

I spill out into the labyrinth
of the old city,

beyond the throngs of pilgrims
on the via dolorosa.

Having seen how archaeology
is helping us

understand christ's death,

I'm moving on to
my investigation of his birth

by meeting
hebrew university teacher

and guide
danny "the digger" herman.

When you walk around this part
of the old city,

everywhere you go,
you're confronted

with these
images of christ

from the last days
of his life.

Let's talk
about his birth.

From the time of jesus
in his life,

what do we have
for historic accounts?

We have none.
Nothing?

No. What we have
is the gospels.

Okay.

These are the four books
from the new testament --

matthew, mark,
luke and john.

Yes.

The gospels are the,
and I do mean the, source

of all of our historic knowledge
of the life and times of jesus.

It's basically a biography
of one man

from four different writers.

This is where we get the story
of the holy birth,

and with sincere apologies
to my old Sunday-school teacher,

this is how I remember it.

A little over 2,000 years ago
in nazareth,

a virgin named mary is awakened
in the middle of the night

by the angel gabriel,

the biblical version
of maury povich,

who tells her she's pregnant and
the father is, you know, god.

She takes the news
surprisingly well

as does her
very understanding husband,

a guy named joseph.

Unfortunately,
the timing stinks.

Right around the baby's
due date,

the roman emperor,
caesar augustus,

orders a tax census
to be held,

requiring all citizens to be
counted in their hometowns.

Stupid taxes.

Since joseph was from
the little town of bethlehem,

he and his extremely
pregnant wife

take a road trip
there by donkey,

and you know the rest.
There's no room at the inn,

and mary gives birth
to jesus in a manger

surrounded by some seriously
surprised barnyard animals

and three kings from the east
who followed a star

and brought some super weird
stuff without a gift receipt.

This is it.

The gospels are the primary
source material for this story.

The only source,
actually, yes,

and only two of them
care to record

his birth in bethlehem.

Only two of the four?
Only two, yes.

So now we're down
to two gospels?

Yes.

Yep, that's right.

Two of the books
don't even bother

with jesus' birth story,

and matthew and luke offer
slightly different versions,

and that's not even
the strangest part.

One of the things
you need to understand,

matthew and luke,
just like mark and john,

they were compiled some
60 to 80 years later.

They are not from the time
of jesus.

None of the gospels
were written during his life?

No.

Scholars largely agree that
the gospels were not written

by the people
they're named after

but rather by their followers
who cobbled

together the story
decades later.

That's kind of mind-blowing
in and of itself, right?

I mean, they're written
as though

they're firsthand accounts.

So this would be like if I was
writing about woodstock,

and I wasn't there for it,
but my dad went,

and he told me
all about it,

and then I write it
as though I was there?

Yeah.
That's incredible.

But just because the gospels
are pseudobiographical

doesn't mean they're wrong.

As the closest thing
to contemporary history we have,

they're invaluable sources
for learning

about the historical jesus.

So from some of the gospels,
we have the story of his birth,

but how accurate
are the details?

And what about the date
and the year?

I mean, you know, this is
the story that we hear.

It happened at the end
of December, you know?

2,000 and somewhat
years ago, yes.

Yeah, exactly.

Well, that date was
created by a monk

some centuries
later in europe.

What is the likelihood
that he really hit

the right year, year 1?

Well, first of all, the text
tells us when jesus is born,

king herod is still alive.
Right.

At this time,
this is a roman province.

King herod famously is
in charge of that province.

Yeah, but he died 4 years
earlier at the year 4 bce,

according to
roman historians.

Right.

So the year that jesus was
born might not be year 1

but somewhere a few years
before that.

Maybe.

So we may be off by a few years
in terms of his birth.

Yeah.
We should all add, like,

4 years
to the christian count.

And what about the monk?
What about, you know?

25 of December,
christmas?

Yes.
Do we at least have that?

No.
Okay.

Boy, it's all falling
apart here.

It's all falling apart
here immediately.

That was decided
also centuries later.

In constantinople
and in rome,

it was decided to match it
with some roman pagan holiday.

Okay, so the year and the date
are a little fluid,

but in terms of the fundamentals
of the birth story,

the gospels do tell us
where it happened, right?

Bethlehem, the house
of bread in hebrew.

That's
the accepted location?

The accepted location
by the gospels,

and since we only
have the gospels,

I cannot suggest
any other place.

Do you think it is
truly possible to separate

jesus the man from jesus
the religious figure?

We have archaeology.

We have
a lot of holy places,

and through
archaeological research

that is
an ongoing process,

we understand
more and more.

If you really want to understand
the story of jesus,

you have to start
in bethlehem.

You have to go
to the church of nativity,

to the crypt
under identified

as the very place
where he was born.

Armed with the knowledge
that the gospels

are not firsthand accounts,

I want to see if the accepted
place of jesus' birth

is the real deal.

I say goodbye
to danny the digger

and pick up some wheels
for my short trip

to the church
of the nativity,

but don't confuse
short for easy.

Okay, headed to bethlehem.

You know, for centuries,

christians around the world
have been taught

that this is the location of
the stable where jesus was born.

It's practically
an article of faith,

and so you might think that
bethlehem would be surrounded

by hundreds of holy
christian sites,

but, in fact,
that's not the case,

and that's because
bethlehem actually sits

in the highly controversial area
known as the west bank.

Roll the tape.

The west bank refers to about
2,000 square miles of territory

bordered by the west bank
of the jordan river

and extending all the way
into jerusalem.

The name, though, is the only
thing people seem to agree on.

It's the center
of a decades-long conflict

between the israelis
and the palestinians,

and since discussing the
politics of the west bank

is like wading into quicksand,
I'll just say this --

I look forward to a day
when the military checkpoint

I'm rapidly approaching
is unnecessary.

This road is dangerous
to your lives.

Okay.

Okay, here comes the checkpoint.

Just a couple of nice
jewish boys

with kevlar vests,
automatic weapons.

Oh, boy.

Gates: To find the historical
truth about christ's birthplace,

I'm approaching
the hotly contested border

between israel
and the west bank.

Now is a good time to have
the u.S. Embassy on speed dial.

Okay, here comes the checkpoint.

Oh, boy.

Hello.

How are you?

I'm good.

Everything good?

Okay?
Thank you very much.

Toda.

♪ hallelujah ♪

♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

choir: ♪ hallelujah ♪

♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

gates: Well, tensions in
the middle east extend

all the way
to the car-rental counter.

One of the many
peculiarities here

is that israeli
car-rental companies

will not let you take
one of their vehicles

into parts of the west bank that
are under palestinian control.

There's actually a chip
in this car

that tells them if I do so,
so I need to pull over

and switch
to a palestinian taxi.

♪

hey.
-Hi.

-Bethlehem?
-Yes, welcome.

All right.
Great.

Okay.

[ both speak arabic ]

what's your name?

My name is osama.

Great.

Here we go.

It's a quick ride
to the middle of bethlehem,

and my cab drops me
at the church of the nativity,

where I've arranged a meeting

with biblical historian
haytham dieck.

Haytham.
Hey, how are you?

Hey, I'm josh.
Hi, josh. How are you?

Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.

First of all,
I love that this

is the main entrance
to the church.

That's right.
The smallest door ever.

We call it
the door of humility.

Door of humility, yeah.

What could be more humble
than this?

Exactly.
The most important church

in the world
with the smallest door ever.

Right.
Should we go inside?

Absolutely, please.
Please.

After you.
Thank you.

♪

so beautiful.

Gates: This is
the oldest-standing church

in the holy land,

said to have been built
on the exact spot

of jesus christ's birth.

And like the holy sepulchre
in jerusalem,

we have the emperor constantine
to thank for it.

After he made christianity
the official religion

of the roman empire
in the year 325,

he sent his mother, helena,
here to preserve

and memorialize
the events of jesus' life,

and this was one of
the first places she found.

After his mother, helena,
was at the site here

and discovered
the site of the birth.

And according to tradition,
this miraculous birth

happened
underneath us, right?

Yes. Happened underneath us,
exactly, just there.

Down the stairs?

Would you like to come
and see it?

Yes.
Let's go.

Such
a mysterious entrance.

Oh, yes.

Haytham brings me down
ancient stone steps

to the place
helena discovered,

the purported location
of the nativity.

Absolutely stunning,
look at this.

Here we are, right?
And this is it?

That's it.
This is the spot, yes?

It's the spot.

The accepted birthplace
of jesus christ.

Yes.
The star of bethlehem.

Absolutely amazing,

and, you know, what's
so remarkable about this

is that it's not at all
what most people,

I think, would expect.
That's right.

I think of this story
from Sunday school.

Mm-hmm.

And I remember there was
no room at the inn,

and so mary and joseph,
they stay in a manger,

and there's hay
on the ground,

and there's donkeys,
and there's animals.

This feels more like
we're in a cave.

In fact, it is a cave.
It is?

This idea that they went
to the inn,

and they didn't find
any space, actually,

the inn
is the guest room.

So this is not an inn

like they were going
to the motel 6,

and they were sold out?

Not at all.
Absolutely...

That's how people think
about it, though, I think...

Exactly.

...Like it was some
sort of guest lodging,

but this would probably
have been

one of their relatives'
or friends' homes?

Absolutely, one of their
relatives', friends' home,

and they found
the guest room occupied,

so they had to go down
into a cave

in order to give birth here
in this place.

Many people back in
the 1st century

would use caves or grottos
for protecting their animals.

Early paintings of the nativity,

like this one,
depict the birth in a cave,

not away in a manger
as later illustrations

and christmas carols
would have us believe.

In a sense, this is a manger...
-This is a manger.

...Just maybe not
the one we picture.

Exactly.

And so what evidence
do we have that the church

was constructed
in the correct place?

We have lots of evidence from
the early christian witnesses.

Back in the 2nd
and the 3rd century,

local people were showing
the pilgrims

and people coming to visit
the place where jesus was born,

which means we have
a very high authenticity.

And what about
archaeologically?

Do we have any evidence,
any bones,

any pottery
from this time period

when jesus was born
that's been found down here?

So far,
we have not found

any archaeological remains
to that period,

but close by, there's a place
I'm going to show you,

a secret place where we
might have that evidence.

Yeah?
Let's see it.

Let's see it.
Okay, please.

So though the manger itself
is sacred,

it doesn't offer us
any archaeological evidence,

but nearby is another chamber,

one that most pilgrims
aren't even aware exists,

which might tell
a different story.

I don't know what to expect
at the end of this dark tunnel,

but I'm pretty sure
it isn't this.

Oh, my word.

These are tombs.

So these are bench-style
rock-cut tombs?

Yes, exactly.

Wow, look at this.

And if you look down,
you can see some remains.

Wow.

This is
a very sacred place.

Normally, no one is allowed
to come here.

That's incredible.

And the big question...

When do the bones
date from?

From the time of jesus,
the 1st century.

So this brings us back
to the 1st century?

Exactly.

It's not just this room.

There are other chambers
I want to show you also.

There's more?

Yes. There's more.
Come with me.

Josh, come and see here.

Whoa, unbelievable.

It is just stacked
with skulls and bones.

Gates: Deep beneath the church
of the nativity in bethlehem,

biblical scholar haytham dieck
believes he can prove

that this is the site
of jesus' true birthplace.

No definitive archaeological
evidence

has been found to date
the nativity site itself,

but deeper in the complex,

he brings me through
a restricted area

and to a shocking site.

Unbelievable.
Look at this.

It is just stacked
with skulls and bones.

How many people
are in here?

As many as 2,000.

As many as 2,000 people.

Yes.

The cave here is called
the cave of the holy innocents.

Many believe
it's the evidence

of the massacre
by herod.

Okay, so this story comes
from the book of matthew.

Herod, who was the king
in this region for the romans,

was nervous about
an old testament prophecy

about a child
from bethlehem

who would grow up to be
the true king of the jews.

So to deal with
this future threat,

herod has his soldiers kill
all male children in bethlehem

who are younger
than 2 years old.

The resulting slaughter
is known

as the massacre
of the innocents.

Though horrific to contemplate,
many historians doubt the story

because the only source
yet to be found

for such a notable event
is the book of matthew.

Even roman historians
make no mention

of what would be
an unprecedented bloodbath,

and some contend the bones

are simply the remains
of early christian worshippers.

Haytham and other
biblical scholars, though,

believe these bones are
the victims of the massacre

and proof that matthew's gospel
is historical fact.

They are the first
christian martyrs

ever that were killed
for the blood of jesus.

It's a really
kind of disturbing sight,

but it is extraordinary.

Thank you so much, haytham.
You're welcome, josh.

I appreciate it.
It's a real pleasure.

Thank you. Okay.
Back to the surface.

The church of the nativity
has offered

tantalizing connections
to the 1st century,

but there are no artifacts
that tie it directly to jesus,

and the human remains nearby
are unsettled as evidence.

Haytham's belief, however,
is as constant

as the star the three kings
followed 2,000 years ago.

♪

leaving bethlehem,
I decide to saddle up

to put the nativity story
through a test of my own.

Now, 2,000 years later,
it is, of course,

impossible
to scientifically test

every element of
the nativity story,

but we can certainly
take some educated guesses.

Now, I am not, nor have I
ever been, 9 months pregnant,

but I've been sitting on this
donkey for about a mile now,

and I can tell you,
my butt is already killing me.

The idea that a woman
who is so pregnant

she's within a day
of giving birth

riding close to 100 miles
from her hometown on a donkey

does seem, well,
let's use the word unlikely.

Now, that doesn't mean
the event didn't take place,

but some archaeologists and
historians have begun to suspect

that maybe the most famous
birth in history

took place somewhere else.

My car is just up here.

Come on.

I haul my sore ass back
to my rental

and drive back into israel

to find archaeologist
aviram oshri.

For some reason, in a country
where you can drive end-to-end

in less than 4 hours,
he's asked me to meet him

at an airport.

So I've just come
from the church

of the nativity
in bethlehem,

and I take it
that you do not think

this is where
jesus was born.

No, absolutely not.
Why?

One of the reason
is the complete lack

of the archaeological evidence
of inhabitants

in bethlehem, judea.

Yeah. I mean,
I was struck by the fact

that there doesn't seem to be
a lot of material there.

Exactly.

So you don't
accept this idea

that jesus was born
in bethlehem.

No.

I do believe jesus was born
in bethlehem,

but there
is a second bethlehem.

There's
a second bethlehem?

Exactly.

I didn't know there was
another bethlehem.

There is a second one
in the galilee.

In galilee.

Galilee is in the northern
region of israel

and the place where jesus
would eventually

establish his ministry.

It also contains mary and
joseph's hometown of nazareth.

So what if instead of traveling
nearly 100 miles

to the accepted site
of bethlehem,

they traveled only a few miles
to a lesser-known settlement

by the same name?

Bethlehem of galilee,

and did both of those exist
at the same time?

At the same time, yeah.

How confident are you

that he's from
this other bethlehem?

I'm 100% convinced.

-100%?
-Yeah.

The question is,
how do you prove it?

Well, for that reason,
we have the plane,

so let's get airborne,
and I'll show you.

All right.
After you, please.

Aviram intends to scan
bethlehem of galilee

for proof that he's right.

We board a cessna grand caravan
where robin terry is waiting.

-Hi.
-I'm josh.

Josh, hi.
I'm robin.

Robin, nice to meet you.

I'm the leader-operator
for this flight today.

Terrific.

Aviram, you look nervous.

Pilot: Me too.

Who said, "me too"?

The pilot is not allowed
to say that.

Everybody else is allowed
to be afraid.

That's good.
That's reassuring.

Gates: Our cessna is cleared
for the runway.

The pilot hits the gas, and our
675-horsepower engine kicks in.

We lift off.

Next stop...The new bethlehem.

Now, this dangerous-looking box
back here, robin,

I assume this has
something to do with you.

Okay, so we're gonna be
doing some laser mapping.

Lidar technology uses lasers

to map billions
of points of data.

Then robin can strip away
surface layers of vegetation

from the image to show
the true terrain underneath.

So, aviram,
what's the hope here?

What do you want
the lidar to reveal?

A wall? So why would that
be significant?

And is there
a fortification wall

at the bethlehem
that I've been to?

No?
No.

So if there's a wall
at your site,

that could be
the real bethlehem.

I got it, makes sense.

Do we have any
historical evidence

or anything from the bible
that indicates

that jesus may have been
born here?

It says
he was born in galilee?

When exploring mysteries
about jesus,

I make it a policy
to always carry a bible with me,

and in this case,
it pays off.

Verse 40, "some of the people
were saying,

'this is certainly
the prophet.'

others were saying,
'this is the christ.'

others were saying,
'but surely the christ

is not going to come
from galilee, is he?'"

this literally says
that jesus is from galilee.

Wow.

I had no idea that was
even in the bible.

Different gospels telling
slightly different stories,

but which one is correct?

Right down there?

Robin, your move.

We need to cover the site
in strips, like mowing a lawn.

But the plane doesn't handle
as well

as your average john deere.

Woo-hoo!

Gates: I'm in israel with
archaeologist aviram oshri,

who thinks that
the little town of bethlehem

from jesus' birth story

isn't the one most
of the world accepts

but, instead, a different city
by the same name

located in the northern region
of galilee.

Now, we're performing
a lidar scan to see

if a telltale fortification
wall surrounds the site.

But our plane does not
turn on a dime.

Gates: Woo-hoo!

Who said archaeology
was boring?

It's downright
terrifying.

[ laughter ]

terry: Okay, guys.

It looks like the scan
is complete.

Okay. Let's get back
on the ground

and take a look
at the data.

We touch down,
and I'm grateful

to see israel
at eye level again.

Okay, wheels down.

Robin brings the lidar data
to his lab for analysis.

While we anxiously wait
for the results,

aviram brings me to the site
that we just scanned from above,

what he believes
is bethlehem 2.0.

Okay, josh, pull in here.

Over a decade ago,
aviram dug in this area

and found the remains
of a huge byzantine-era church

that he thinks was built
over a significant site,

but he was forced to backfill
his excavation to preserve it.

Now a busy street is running
right through

the footprint of the building
that he thinks could be on top

of the true site
of the nativity.

Okay, this is where
the church was, here.

Okay, above us?
Above us.

So this was higher then?
Yeah.

And during those excavations,
what did you find?

I found on the northern side
the remains of northern hole

and the baptistery hole,

one paved with
a beautiful mosaic floor.

It's an ornate structure
for such a small village,

so its very presence may be an
indicator of an important site.

And so in terms of today,

can any of this church
be seen still?

Is any of it exposed?

There is maybe only few stones
that we can detect.

Oh, look at that.

There's stones
here and here.

This would have continued up
and over the road...

Yeah.
...And back this way?

Mm-hmm.

But the church by itself
wouldn't be enough to prove

that this was the birthplace.

The cave that served
as jesus' manger

would have to be here as well.

Well, aviram's
found that, too.

Gates: Right in here?

Oshri: That's the place.

It wasn't big.
Uh-huh.

It was just the remains
of the cave.

And so if you're right,
hundreds of people

a day are driving by here

who have no idea
that this could be

one of the most
significant sites in the world.

Yeah.

That person right there,
they have no clue.

Jesus could have been born
right here.

They don't know.
This could be it.

Yeah.

-Please.
-Let's go.

Which brings us
back to the wall.

Historical sources tell us
that the right bethlehem

was surrounded by
a large fortification wall.

Aviram contends that the other
bethlehem lacks this wall,

and while the lidar will tell us
more about this place,

aviram has already found
an intriguing hint.

This is a part of the wall
we've found.

Aha!
Look at that, amazing!

I mean, a proper wall,

really well-preserved
in here, too.

This is from the right time,
you think?

Yeah.
It's byzantine.

Gates: There's no doubt this
is an impressive wall,

but is it
our fortification wall,

and did it surround
the one true bethlehem?

More wall, and it keeps
going through here.

[ cellphone rings ]
uh-huh.

They have
the lidar results.

They have them?
Yeah, they have them.

Yeah, okay. Come on.
Let's go.

We peel out of the site
and speed toward the lab

where robin's team
has analyzed the lidar data.

What we're seeing here
is the topography

plus the vegetation.

So with the vegetation,

it's very hard
to detect anything.

Now, let's just take
the vegetation off.

Oh ho!
Look at that!

That is
a wall right there,

and so we were able to see
part of that in the field.

The question is,
how big it is.

Could it be
a fortification wall?

So can we see if it continues
to the north or the south?

Yeah.
It goes on down south.

And then
what happens to it?

There is something here.

We see something here.
What is this?

I think
the wall continues here.

You think it turns.
It keeps going to the east.

Yeah.

I think this is where
the gate of the city was.

It may be
that it turned there.

It does look like
the same stone piles

we're seeing in the wall.

So there's some
evidence on here

that it might go
to the east,

but the whole thing has been
leveled and built over.

So final analysis,
what do you think?

So I think we have a lot
of reasons to dig here.

Now we have to excavate.

Okay, well, I look forward
to coming back

and seeing what's
under the ground here.

Me too.
Thanks very much, aviram.

Thank you, guys, so much.

I really appreciate it.

Gates:
Aviram is dead sure he's found

the genuine site
of the nativity,

and though it will take
a lot more investigating,

the proof he's searching for
might only be one shovel away.

I wish him luck and make my way
back to the car to investigate

a third and final contender

for the true birthplace
of jesus.

Aviram's theory about
bethlehem 2.0 is intriguing,

but the fact is, for as famous
a name as bethlehem is,

it's only mentioned twice
in the entire new testament.

Two of the gospels
don't mention it at all,

but there is another town that's
mentioned a lot in the bible,

a place that is
so associated with christ

that it's practically
attached to his name.

He's not just jesus.

He's jesus of...

I pull into nazareth feeling
about half past dead,

but instead
of taking a load off,

I take a walk around
the remarkable city

where jesus grew up.

Nazareth is where jesus
spent his childhood years.

In fact, it may be one of
the only things that we can say

for sure about his early life,
but modern nazareth

probably isn't anything
like you'd expect.

Sure, it has old-world markets,

but, really, this is
a modern, bustling city

with a population
of 75,000 people

and the largest arab population
in all of israel.

Now, if you want to see
the nazareth of the bible,

you need to look down.

The nazareth of jesus' time
sits on solid bedrock,

buried about
10 feet underground,

but a few years ago,

archaeologists discovered
something extraordinary.

I'm inside an ancient silo,

a rock-cut chamber
used for storing food

and above it...
Check it out.

♪

this subterranean room opens up
into the basement of a dwelling

but not just any dwelling --
the very first home in nazareth

ever excavated
from the time of jesus.

Gates: The markets of jerusalem
cater to pilgrims of all faiths,

but what if I'm shopping
for a new career?

Well, turns out
they've got me covered.

Hello.
This is your shop?

This is my shop.
All of these shops?

Yes, all of it.
Terrific.

Where do you
come from, sir?

I come from usa.
Usa?

Can I be an actor
one day, maybe?

You want to be an actor?

Well, my friend,
they say I'm a good actor.

Really?
Yeah.

Let me see sad.

Let me see scared.

You got the part.

You've won a job
hosting the show.

I take it as a compliment.

I'm going to work here now,
and you'll do this.

Good luck.
Thank you.

You can have the hat.
Here you go.

All right.
And let me see how it looks.

I'll just be here at the shop.
Good luck.

All right.
Thank you.

Good luck.
Follow him around now, guys.

That way.

I'll just be here.

Half off,
everything is half off!

Gates: In search of the truth

behind the story
of jesus' birth,

I've examined the church
of the nativity in bethlehem

and scanned a second site

purported to be the real place
where he was born.

Now I'm exploring
his hometown of nazareth,

where archaeologists recently
unearthed a unique dwelling.

But not just any dwelling --
the very first home in nazareth

ever excavated
from the time of jesus.

The find revealed
for the first time

what life might have been like
for the young family of three

that came home
from that manger.

Archaeologists found pottery
and other artifacts,

a portrait of
this modest village

that had a very special kid
playing in its streets.

What's truly incredible
about this place

isn't its grandeur
but rather its modesty.

The real nazareth was
a tiny jewish village,

probably 40 or 50 small
brick-lined houses like this.

Nazareth doesn't even show
up on a proper map

until 300 years
after jesus dies.

In a town that small,
for all we know,

jesus himself could have
walked inside this very house,

but the more that you learn

about the real,
historic nazareth,

the more that the mysteries
about the birth of jesus

come into focus.

♪

the story of jesus doesn't
actually begin with his birth.

It begins when the angel gabriel
informs mary

that she's carrying
the child of god.

This is known as
the annunciation,

and not only is there
a church here to mark

the occasion,
there are two.

There's a huge basilica
at the site

where helena believed
it took place,

and if that's not
to your liking,

there's a second shrine
where the greek orthodox church

holds that the blessed event
really happened,

and that's where I meet
dr. Uzi dahari...

Dr. Dahari.
Hi.

Nice to meet you.

...An archaeologist who thinks
that nazareth

was the site of more than
just the annunciation.

So let's talk about
the birth of jesus.

I've been to not one
but two bethlehems now,

and what do you make
of this idea

that jesus was born
in bethlehem?

Do you think there's any history
to support that?

No.
You don't?

No.
I don't think so.

Where do you think
he was born?

Somewhere in nazareth?

Okay. We're going to need
a bigger headline.

Unlike the other archaeologists
I've met with,

dr. Dahari doesn't believe
jesus was born in bethlehem

at all, not the one in judea,
not the one in galilee

but right here in nazareth.

Right, and one of
the other stories

that I think
so many of us know

is the idea that the reason
that he's born in bethlehem

is because
there's this tax census.

Is there any evidence
that a census like this

ever took place?

The only known census
in that time was around 6 ad,

well after the birth of jesus.

The idea that everybody would
have to go back

to the place
they were born to be taxed

seems like
a pretty crazy system.

There's no real evidence
that romans ever required

people to road-trip
to their hometowns to be taxed.

Instead, dr. Dahari believes
that the tax census

was a kind of plot device
by later authors

who were trying to reconcile
jesus' birth story

with old testament prophecies
of who the messiah needed to be.

For example, the messiah
was thought to be from the house

of the great jewish leader
king david

who was born in,
you guessed it, bethlehem.

If we can connect him
to david,

then he is the sort
of rightful heir.

When you think about
what a kind of humble place

nazareth was, the idea
that he was born here

does make the most sense.

Right.

Consider this -- from the time
of his birth until his baptism

by john around 30 years later,
jesus lived here in nazareth

all but the last three years
of his life,

and the only thing the bible
tells us

about this entire period
is one story

of a teenage jesus getting lost
on a trip to jerusalem.

That's it.

It's the humbleness
of jesus

and the simplicity
of his life

that causes this mystery
because nobody really,

in his time, wrote down
anything about him.

Right.

Right.

With dr. Dahari's words,

I'm once again reminded
of the remarkable fact

that jesus, the central figure
in 2 millennia of human history,

was, in his own time,
simply a man among men.

When that changed, many of
the details of his early life

had already been lost.

Having heard three different
theories

about the location
of jesus' birth,

it does seem that the simplest
story is the likeliest,

that he was born
where he grew up --

here in nazareth.

The search for the historic
truth around jesus' birth

and early life has turned up
sincere differences of opinion

and some contradicting liturgy.

But what's remarkable
is the universal desire,

even after 2,000 years,

to know more about
the man named jesus christ.

His history may always remain
something of a mystery,

but the most fundamental
of his teachings are as clear

as when they were first written
down here in the 1st century --

love thy neighbor as thyself,
care for the weakest among us

and stand
for the dignity of all.

Whether historic or divine,

it's a message
that's worth following.