Foreword New Testament
The events described in the New Testament can hardly be traced by archaeological means. The Old Testaments describes epic events like battles, destruction of cities or mass events like the Exodus. These events left many traces in the ground. In contrast, the New Testament described the actions of a small group of persons and mostly of a single individual – Jesus Christ. These actions – mostly speeches – did not leave any trace in the ground.
As far as I can think of, the only physical evidence we can hope to find are the mortal remains of Jesus. In the past small stone coffins containing bones of crucified people have been found. In one case a 10-15 cm nail was still within a foot bone. Because the nail was bent it was not possible to remove it so the remains of the unfortunate were buried including the nail. The name of the individual was inscribed on the coffin.
However, if we can compare the relative large numbers of crucified people with the tiny number of coffin finds we have to conclude that it is highly unlikely that Jesus' remains are ever found. Even if we someday find a coffin inscribed with the name of Jesus there will always be doubts as to the authenticity of its content.
(C) 2006-2011 Thorsten Straub, www.biblical-finds.com