westford
Member
Did anyone see the programme on BBC2 on Friday night about the spear of Christ?
The spear head is in a museum in Vienna(?), and the programme followed its alleged history from Christ's crucifixion through to its theft by (and subsequent rescue from) the Nazis, and the first attempt to confirm a date for it.
It seems that the main part of the spear dates to the time of Charlemagne - he used it to prove his right to power, etc. There are later aditions of silver and gold sheaths, and a nail in the centre of the spear head is like another nail dated to the 1st century (forget if it's BC or AD - my bad!). This was rumoured to be a nail used at Christ's crucifixion, but although it is of a comparable age, it is unlikely to have anything to do with Christ. Magnification of the nail showed that there were traces of other smaller pieces of metal hammered into it - possibly fragments of a nail used at the crucifixion...?
The analysis showed that while not dating to the time of Christ, the main spear was not a Nazi fake as some had suggested.
Maybe it was the Nazi connection, or the supernatural/divine powers connected to the spear, but I thought it was a very Indy-esque artefact! Will look for some info on the programme on the BBC's website
The spear head is in a museum in Vienna(?), and the programme followed its alleged history from Christ's crucifixion through to its theft by (and subsequent rescue from) the Nazis, and the first attempt to confirm a date for it.
It seems that the main part of the spear dates to the time of Charlemagne - he used it to prove his right to power, etc. There are later aditions of silver and gold sheaths, and a nail in the centre of the spear head is like another nail dated to the 1st century (forget if it's BC or AD - my bad!). This was rumoured to be a nail used at Christ's crucifixion, but although it is of a comparable age, it is unlikely to have anything to do with Christ. Magnification of the nail showed that there were traces of other smaller pieces of metal hammered into it - possibly fragments of a nail used at the crucifixion...?
The analysis showed that while not dating to the time of Christ, the main spear was not a Nazi fake as some had suggested.
Maybe it was the Nazi connection, or the supernatural/divine powers connected to the spear, but I thought it was a very Indy-esque artefact! Will look for some info on the programme on the BBC's website