Product Description

A modern day detective story of finding out where Emmaus was: where the Risen Christ walked. Here is a brilliant piece of archaeological reconstruction to solve the problem and dazzle readers in the process. For centuries scholars have tried to work out where Emmaus was. Where, in other words, the risen Christ walked, ate and revealed himself. It is a crucial location in the map of Christian belief, and one of the great missing links of Christian archaeology, which has foxed excavators and biblical detectives for more than a millennium and a half. Where is the true site of the astonishing event recorded by St Luke? There are many sites that claim to be the original one, all with their own souvenir business and plenty to lose. Three suggested sites have been put forward. Emmaus-Nicopolis, which is too far from Jerusalem to fit the story and was a regional capital rather than a village. Emmaus-Aby Gosh, which the crusaders believed to be the true site but was not called Emmaus in the First Century AD and must be, ruled out. Finally Emmaus El Qubeibe, which was favoured by the Franciscans as the true site after the Fifteenth Century but again, was not called Emmaus in the First century. The trail went cold long ago, or so it seemed. Now Thiede has produced his most dramatic find to date. His work remains highly confidential and will cause a storm in the archaeological world when it is disclosed. The lost site of Emmaus is rising once again from the soil. This extraordinary book will astonish readers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #371342 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 205 pages

About the Author
Carsten Peter Thiede is one of the most prolific, controversial and acclaimed historians of the Early Church. He has published The Jesus Papyrus and The Quest for the True Cross. Matthew d'Ancona is deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph

Customer Reviews

Insights into the First Century world
Prof. Carsten Thiede left this book unpublished when he died, and it's very good to have his insights made available to us. The main subject of this book is his discovery of the site of Emmaus, mentioned in Luke's Gospel. For centuries people thought it wouldn't be found, as the suggested sites were all unsatisfactory. Prof. Thiede was working as an archaeologist in Israel, and he persuaded the authorities to let him dig a site by the main road running West from Jerusalem. Using the evidence of what this place had been called since Roman times, and the remains he uncovered, he concluded that this was the Biblical Emmaus. Not as far from Jerusalem as Luke stated, but fitting in perfectly with the other details he gives.
Prof. Thiede also writes about the Jewish historian Josephus, explaining why his favourable reference to Jesus need not be a later insertion, and shows how good a historian Luke was. The book generally is a heartening work which confirms the trustworthiness of the Bible.

Emmaus? A trip!
The rediscovery of the (probable) site of the Biblical Emmaus is only one interesting aspect of this remarkable book. It is a well-written and entertaining account which covers a wide range of early church history, the status of women 2,000 years ago, the credibility of Josephus the historian (and his own Messianic theology, which led him to support Vespasian and Titus), the activities of the Crusaders (not all bad guys), and much more. Very strongly recommended to any serious New Testament student. As a bonus you will discover the connection between the width of a Roman horse's backside and the Space Shuttle!

Big Deal? I don't think so.
According to the Amazon write up:

"Now, Thiede has produced his most dramatic find to date. His work remains highly confidential and will cause a storm in the archaeological world when it is disclosed."

Big deal?
Not exactly. Here we are two years later and what evidence is there that this posthumously released book has caused even a mild breeze - anywhere.

And what did the author mean by "his most dramatic find to date"? Did they not know that Carsten is dead (Dec. 2004)? Or does he or she know something that has been concealed from the rest of us?

Though Thiede was a controversial character, when alive, he may have been entirely sincere in the unorthodox ideas he espoused. It has to be said, however, that he was remarkably unsuccessful in gaining support for his attempts to date certain finds far closer to the time of Jesus' death than even the most evangelical of his collleagues were wont to quote. So whilst he may have given rise to a few arguments in the halls of academe, this book is unlikely to alter his status amongst reputable scholars.