Chris’ Considerations

There are loads more photos in this, the final post in my series on Biblical Archaeology in the British Museum. As I conclude, here are some final artefacts that relate to New Testament times, in particular people and things that were around in the 1st Century AD. First here are some of the Roman Emperors from the time of Jesus and His apostles.

Above left: Augustus (27BC-AD14), Caesar at the time of the birth of Christ. He was the fellow who instigated the census that took Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. (See Luke 2:1-7) Above right: Tiberius (AD14-37) was the Caesar during Jesus’ earthly ministry and appointed Pontius Pilate as governor of Judea in 26AD. (See Luke 3:1)

Click on for loads more photos.

Above: Titus, (AD79-81) was at one stage commander of the Roman forces in Palestine and under his leadership Jerusalem was conquered and Temple destroyed in AD70.

Here are a few bits and pieces from daily Roman life in the 1st Century AD. Above left: a food strainer. Above right: a stool.

Above: A Roman lamp from the 1st Century AD. Probably similar in design to the kind mentioned in Matthew 5:15, John 5:35.

Also of interest is the set of doctor’s equipment (looks fairly brutal to me). Maybe Luke the doctor (Colossians 4:14), who wrote the books of Luke and Acts would have been familiar with this.

Finally here are some things Paul the Apostle might have seen on his travels to Athens (Acts 17:16-34) and Ephesus (Acts 19) in the 1st Century AD. Above: Part of the famous Elgin Marbles taken from the Parthenon in Athens. Below: A column base from the temple of the Greek goddess Artemis (or Diana in Latin) in Ephesus.

Isn’t it great that there is all this archaeological evidence that helps us understand life in Biblical times? My thanks again to my main sources: Masters, Anderson and Edwards.