Jesus-Era House Discovered in Nazareth

Just as Christians gear up to celebrate the birth of Jesus, archaeologists have found a house that could have been home to his childhood neighbors in Nazareth, not far from the place where the angel Gabriel is said to have announced to Mary that she would bear a child. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre said that the dwelling seemed to have been occupied by a "simple Jewish family," and "may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with." The house dates back to a time when Nazareth was a tiny, isolated village of Jews caught in fear of Roman invaders. Alexandre and her team were able to uncover about 900 square feet of the house, including a wall, a hideout a courtyard and a system for catching water from the roof and delivering it to the home.