One of the attractions I was excited to see during our trip to Israel was the "Jesus Boat." In 1986, a drought caused the Sea of Galilee to recede significantly. Two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan discovered the boat buried in the mud. The brothers were fishermen by trade, but both were amateur archaeologists as well. When they discovered the boat, they recognized its significance and reported the find to officials. I believe one of the brothers described a flash of light and a rainbow. Because of the age and delicate condition of the boat, a method had to be devised to extract it without damaging the ancient wood. Furthermore, the water was due to rise again, so the archaeology team was working against the clock. In twelve days time, they had the boat safely extracted.
The boat dated to the First Century AD, which makes it contemporaneous to the time of Jesus' teaching on the lake. It is located at a Kibbutz called Ginosar, which is mentioned in the Bible as Gennesaret. There is no direct connection between this boat and Jesus. Other than the time frame, general location and the importance of the Sea of Galilee in Jesus' teaching. The boat is made of several types of wood, which suggest it was in use for decades and heavily repaired over the years. Carbon dating places the boat between 120 BC and 40 AD. Pottery and nails on the boat place the period between 50 BC and 50 AD. That creates an overall time frame of 50 BC to 40 AD, combining both factors. The boat has been preserved and is located within the museum. The museum is more of a tourist trap/souvenir shop with a side attraction than a museum with a gift shop. If that makes sense. The museum is almost an afterthought given the amount of space dedicated to the actual museum.
We entered the museum from the rear of the building, coming up from the docks on the Sea of Galilee. The front of the museum has a large parking lots for tourist buses, where our bus driver met us for the remainder of our journey that day. As you enter the museum, there is a small area for watching a video that provides a history of the boat's discovery and preservation. With the size of the overall building, it would be nice if they provided a separate room for the video. A group ahead of us was right next to us looking at the boat while we were watching our video. Their rather bellicose guide drowned out parts of the video with is voice. That is probably my only major complaint about this attraction. There are placards with information about the boat around the protected area that surrounds it. Our guide had much more to say than just the placards, so I did not bother reading them. I did read the placards on the nearby pottery and nails, which are also preserved in a temperature (and moisture) controlled glass case.
The Jesus Boat part of this museum only takes about half an hour to see. Less if you just watch the video and look at the boat and artifacts. There is not a lot to see. Admission is only three or four dollars, which is a reasonable price. It would be nice if they spread out the attraction a bit to allow more privacy for groups coming through. The majority of the floor space is dedicated to a massive gift shop that includes both Christian items as well as Judaica. This boat is significant to Jews as well. Not for any religious reasons as much as the preservation of an ancient boat in an area where the fishing tradition dates back for eons. Any wooden structure preserved for 2000 years is worth seeing, I would imagine.
Kibbutz Ginnosar, Ginosar 1498000, Israel
Video about the discovery:
Stay tuned for more Christian travel experiences in Israel.
The banner photo was taken from Google. The other photos are mine. They may be used with prior permission.
A Christian Guide to Israel
Hotels
Cinema Hotel Tel Aviv, Israel
Ron Beach Hotel, Tiberias, Israel
Prima Park Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel
Attractions
Caesarea National Park Caesarea, Israel
Mount Precipice Mount Kedimum, Israel
Sea of Galilee Boat Ride Tiberias, Israel
Yigal Alon Museum (Jesus Boat) Ginosar, Israel
Capernaum, Israel
St. Peter’s Restaurant Kinneret, Israel
Caesarea Phillipi, Banias, Israel
Israeli 6-Day War Memorial
Jordan River Baptismal Site, Yardenit, Israel
Beit She’an National Park, Beit She’an, Israel
Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel
Garden Tomb, Jerusalem, Israel
Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
Western Wall Tunnels, Jerusalem, Israel
Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, Israel
Bethlehem New Store Gift Shop
Pool of Bethesda, Jerusalem, Israel
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
House of Caiaphas the High Priest, Jerusalem, Israel
The Upper Room, Jerusalem, Israel
Tomb of King David, Jerusalem, Israel
Masada National Park, Masada, Israel
The Dead Sea, Masada, Israel
Churches
Discalced Carmelite Monastery Muhraqa, Israel
Basilica of the Annunciation Nazareth, Israel
St. Peter’s Church Capernaum, Israel
Church of the Multiplication Tabgha, Israel
Church of the Beatitudes Tabgha, Israel
Church of All Nations, Jerusalem, Israel
Church of Saint Anne, Jerusalem, Israel
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, Israel
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Israel
These photos are my own. They may be used with permission.