The Ancient Jesus Boat

The 1986 two brothers from Kibbutz GinosarThe boat is preserved to a length of 8.2 meters (26.9
discovered thefeet), a breadth of 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) and a height
Galilee Boat when a severe drought resulted in theof 1.2 meters (3.9 feet). It is built in the typical ancient
lowering of the waters of the Sea of Galilee (Hebrew:Mediterranean 'shell-based' construction, employing
Yam Kinneret). The vessel had been buried in, and thuspegged mortise-and-tenon joints to edge-join the
protected by, the seabed's sediments. The Antiquitiesplanking. Iron nails hold the frames to the hull.
Authority, assisted by many volunteers, rescued theNumerous repairs, the reuse of timbers and a
boat in a remarkable eleven-day excavation.multiplicity of wood types (twelve) evident in the hull,
Excavators packaged the weak and waterlogged hullsuggest that this vessel had a long work life an owner
in a cocoon of fiberglass and polyurethane foam, andof meager means. Based on several criteria the
then successfully floated it to the nearby Yigal AllonGalilee Boat is firmly dated to the first centuries
Centre, where it underwent an extensive carefullyBCE-CE. An analyses of crew size suggests that this
monitored eleven-year-long conservation process in ais the type of boat referred to in the Gospels in use
specially-built pool.among Jesus' Disciples, as well as that used by
To conserve it, the boat was submerged in a solutiontheagainst the Romans in the nautical Battle of Migdal
of heated polyethylene glycol (PRG). This syntheticin CE 67. This humble vessel is, thus, a remarkable
wax replaced the water in the wood cells. The hullporthole into the past providing a clearer view of the
was then allowed to dry slowly and cleaned ofGalilean seafaring that forms the backdrop to both
excess wax, thus allowing for its present exhibition inJesus' ministry and the Battle of Migdal.
the atmosphere-controlled museum environment.