Following the accidental bulldozing of an unknown tomb in suburban Jerusalem in 1980, archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority found ten ossuaries—limestone boxes that served as first-century coffins. Six had inscriptions, including "Jesus, son of Joseph"; two marked "Mary"; and "Judah, son of Jesus." The team concluded that the unusual group of names was coincidental. In 2005, Simcha Jacobovici, the Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker better known as the "Naked Archaeologist," tracked down the ossuaries in the Israeli Antiquities Authority's warehouse and explored the original tomb. A combination of history, archaeology, and theology, Jacobovici's investigation includes scientific details about the Jesus family tomb ossuaries and results from DNA tests.

"Mr. Jacobovici succeeds amazingly at what any good historian of antiquity must do: he brings the stories to life."—NYTimes