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127-650: The Talpiot discovery was documented in 1994 in "Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel" numbers 701–709, and first discussed in the media in the United Kingdom during March/April 1996. Later that year an article describing the find was published in volume 29 of Atiqot , the journal of the Israel Antiquities Authority . A controversial documentary film, The Lost Tomb of Jesus ,

254-522: A documentary on the Talpiot Tomb in 1996 as part of its Heart of the Matter news magazine . At that time, Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the claims of a connection to Jesus did not hold up archaeologically, adding "They just want to get money for it." Others were similarly skeptical. Following a symposium ("Third Princeton Theological Seminary Symposium on Jewish Views of

381-803: A fair trial . The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years' War , while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. The English Reformation ushered in political, constitutional, social and cultural change in

508-503: A forensic expert to argue his case. Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner, who was among the first to examine the tomb when it was first discovered, said the names marked on the coffins were very common at the time. "I don't accept the news that it was used by Jesus or his family," he told the BBC News website. "The documentary filmmakers are using it to sell their film." In 2010, Tabor and Jacobovici examined (although without fully excavating)

635-509: A subpolar oceanic climate . Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate and the mountains experience a tundra climate . The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions,

762-587: A welfare state was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service , was created. The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's much-diminished economic position, so that a policy of decolonisation was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947. Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, and many became members of

889-464: A handful of participants, the large majority of the assembled scholars consider the theory that the Talpiot ossuaries contained the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family as unlikely after the conference as it has been before. In my historical judgment, the matter is, and in the absence of substantial new evidence, should remain closed". Princeton Theological Seminary issued a letter following

1016-614: A large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in the British-ruled Mandatory Palestine , mainly in the 1920s and 1930s. The museum was established through a donation by John D. Rockefeller Jr. for the creation of a museum and research center in Cairo . Designed by British architect Austen Harrison , it blends Western architectural achievements with Eastern influences, using materials such as Turkish nut doors and Armenian ceramics . The foundation stone

1143-456: A leading role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through the blockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties. In 1800 the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. After the defeat of France at the end of

1270-818: A policy of splendid isolation in Europe, and attempted to contain Russian influence in Afghanistan and Persia , in what came to be known as the Great Game . During this time, Canada , Australia and New Zealand were granted self-governing dominion status. At the turn of the century, Britain's industrial dominance became challenged by the German Empire and the United States . The Edwardian era saw social reform and home rule for Ireland become important domestic issues, while

1397-752: A quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history . However, its involvement in the First World War and the Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy . The UK has three distinct jurisdictions: England and Wales , Scotland , and Northern Ireland . Since 1999, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own governments and parliaments which control various devolved matters. A developed country ,

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1524-504: A result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries . In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society. Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, West Germany and Japan. The UK was the first democratic nation to lower its voting age to 18 in 1969. In

1651-777: A series of connected wars (including the English Civil War ) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy, with the execution of King Charles I , and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England , Scotland and Ireland. Although the monarchy was restored , the Interregnum along with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent Bill of Rights 1689 in England and Claim of Right Act 1689 in Scotland ensured that, unlike much of

1778-510: A total of 328 occurrences (women's names are much less often recorded than men's), and figures for the four most popular names are thus: Colin Aitken, a professor of forensic statistics at Edinburgh University, stated that the study is based on a number of assumptions, and that, "even if we accept the assumptions, 600 to one is certainly not the odds in favour of this tomb being Jesus'", meaning that even if it were true that to find this cluster of names

1905-542: Is of the opinion that, based on the currently available data, it is at least a possibility—and one that should be considered seriously—that Tomb 1 is that of a family related to the New Testament. This statement—not more, but also not less—stands as the author's own conclusion to the work presented here. We must leave it to others, who may be interested, to add to any discussions about the relevance of statistical ideas in assessing data of this nature." Feuerverger's assessment

2032-481: Is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland". The BBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland. The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and nationality . People of

2159-525: Is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index . A law has been passed that UK greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2050. England accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 km ). Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line which roughly divides

2286-592: Is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole. The word England is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK. The term "Britain" is used as a synonym for Great Britain , but also sometimes for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed: the UK Government prefers to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its website (except when referring to embassies), while acknowledging that both terms refer to

2413-565: Is the Isle of Wight . Scotland accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 km ). This includes nearly 800 islands , notably the Hebrides , Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including

2540-741: Is the highest peak in Wales. Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including the Pembrokeshire Coast . Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey ( Ynys Môn ). Rockefeller Museum The Rockefeller Archeological Museum , formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum ("PAM"; 1938–1967), is an archaeology museum located in East Jerusalem , next to Herod's Gate , that houses

2667-603: Is very unlikely, it does not follow that therefore this is probably the tomb of the family of Jesus. Peter Lampe , professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Heidelberg and working in archaeology, pointed out that in the 120s/130s CE in the port town of Maoza at the southern end of the Dead Sea, one Jewish household comprised the following names: Jesus, Simon, Mariame, Jacobus and Judah (Papyri Babatha 17 from 128 CE; 25–26 and 34 from 131 CE). These people had nothing to do with

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2794-572: The 1884 Reform Act championed by William Gladstone granting suffrage to a majority of males for the first time. The British population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation , causing significant social and economic stresses. By the late 19th century, the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury initiated a period of imperial expansion in Africa , maintained

2921-524: The Atlantic slave trade , mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonial slave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa. The slaves were taken to work on plantations , principally in the Caribbean but also North America . However, with pressure from the abolitionism movement , Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took

3048-624: The Battle of Culloden in 1746, after which the Scottish Highlanders were forcibly assimilated into Scotland by revoking the feudal independence of clan chiefs . The British colonies in North America that broke away in the American War of Independence became the United States . British imperial ambition turned towards Asia, particularly to India . British merchants played a leading part in

3175-701: The Bronze Age . The museum regularly hosts special exhibitions, such as the 2019/2021 exhibition of Armenian ceramics in Jerusalem . This year-long exhibition, titled “A Glimpse of Paradise,” was organized in collaboration with Yad Ben Zvi , the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the East Jerusalem Development Company, and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem . Inside what was to have been

3302-645: The Cairngorms , Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Ben Nevis which at 1,345 metres (4,413 ft) is the highest point in the British Isles. Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km ). Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales . The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon ( Welsh : Yr Wyddfa ) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft),

3429-684: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre . Most of the collection consists of finds from the 1920s and 1930s. On display are artifacts unearthed in Jerusalem , Megiddo , Ashkelon , Lachish , Sebastia , and Jericho . One of the Lachish letters is on permanent display at the museum, as are the statuary and stucco decorations from the Umayyad Hisham's Palace . Upon their discovery at Qumran between 1947 and 1956,

3556-512: The Commonwealth of Nations . The UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test, Operation Hurricane , in 1952), but the post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956. The international spread of the English language ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture . As

3683-730: The Dead Sea Scrolls , were housed in the Museum from their discovery, in 1947, until 1967, when, following the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem , Israel relocated the scrolls to the Israel Museum , in West Jerusalem , with the ownership of these scrolls having been heavily contested ever since. A small part of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll , had been taken to Amman , and is now part of

3810-731: The European Convention on Human Rights . The UK remained a great power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and NATO . The UK broadly supported the United States' approach to the " war on terror " in the early 21st century. British troops fought in the War in Afghanistan , but controversy surrounded Britain's military deployment in Iraq , which saw

3937-568: The European Union (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of the 12 founding member states. From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles . It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement . Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in

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4064-486: The Falkland Islands , leading to the 10-week Falklands War in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a 2013 referendum . From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues. Another British overseas territory, Gibraltar , ceded to Great Britain in

4191-527: The French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), the United Kingdom emerged as the principal naval and imperial power (with London the largest city in the world from about 1830). Unchallenged at sea , British dominance was later described as Pax Britannica ("British Peace"), a period of relative peace among the great powers (1815–1914) during which the British Empire became

4318-655: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , one from the Royal Swedish Academy, one from the American Institute of Archaeology, and one from the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. The board ran the museum until 1966. In the 1950s, controversies arose about objects removed both to Amman and to the Israeli side. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , the museum also became a secondary headquarters of

4445-552: The Irish Sea . The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is London , whose wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. The cities of Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively. The lands of

4572-664: The Jordan Museum in Amman. Currently, the Rockefeller Museum holds thousands of artifacts ranging from prehistoric times to the Ottoman period. It includes the largest of the Beisan steles (considered "the most impressive find from Egypt's rule over Canaan") a 9,000-year-old statue from Jericho (one of the oldest representations of a human figure ever found), as well as gold jewelry from

4699-463: The Labour Party emerged from an alliance of trade unions and small socialist groups in 1900, and suffragettes campaigned for women's right to vote. Britain was one of the principal Allies that defeated the Central Powers in the First World War (1914–1918). Alongside their French, Russian and (after 1917) American counterparts, British armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on

4826-405: The Representation of the People Act 1918 . After the war, Britain became a permanent member of the Executive Council of the League of Nations and received a mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies. Under the leadership of David Lloyd George , the British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population. By

4953-463: The Soviet Union formed in 1941, leading the Allies against the Axis powers . There were eventual hard-fought victories in the Battle of the Atlantic , the North Africa campaign and the Italian campaign . British forces played important roles in the Normandy landings of 1944 and the liberation of Europe . The British Army led the Burma campaign against Japan, and the British Pacific Fleet fought Japan at sea. British scientists contributed to

5080-449: The Western Front . The high fatalities of trench warfare caused the loss of much of a generation of men, with lasting social effects in the nation and a great disruption in the social order. Britain had suffered 2.5 million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt. The consequences of the war persuaded the government to expand the right to vote in national and local elections to all adult men and most adult women with

5207-408: The coastline paradox . It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel , which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. The UK contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests , English Lowlands beech forests , North Atlantic moist mixed forests , and Caledonian conifer forests . The area of woodland in

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5334-436: The largest protest in British history in opposition to the government led by Tony Blair . The Great Recession severely affected the UK economy. The Cameron–Clegg coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits. Studies have suggested that policy led to significant social disruption and suffering. A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 resulted in

5461-512: The 16th century and established the Church of England . Moreover, it defined a national identity for England and slowly, but profoundly, changed people's religious beliefs. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England , and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. In 1603,

5588-401: The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, is a key military base . A referendum in 2002 on shared sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 98.97% of voters in the territory. Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of

5715-406: The 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism , deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. In 1982, Argentina invaded the British territories of South Georgia and

5842-476: The 5th century) united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England , they seized large parts of Wales , conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with,

5969-485: The 72 personal names [found on ossuaries] account for 75% of the inscribed names." Among these "top 16" names are Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Matthew, and Judas (and variations thereof) Between the submission of Feuerverger's paper to a journal and its publication, François Bovon noted that he had not made the statement about the name Mariamne which had been ascribed to him by Jacobovici and conveyed to Feuerverger. Specifically, although Feuerverger had factored into his calculations

6096-408: The Afterlife and Burial Practices in Second Temple Judaism: Evaluating the Talpiot Tomb in Context") held in Jerusalem in January 2008, the media interest in the Talpiot tomb was reignited with most notably Time and CNN devoting extensive coverage, hailing the case as being reopened. In particular Simcha Jacobovici is reported to have issued statements to the press saying the symposium has reopened

6223-403: The British High Commissioner , Breasted approached American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. , who agreed to donate two million dollars toward the project. The museum was designed by Austen Harrison , chief architect of the Mandatory Department of Public Works, who drew up blueprints for a white limestone building integrating eastern and western architectural elements. The cornerstone of

6350-464: The Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales , Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in

6477-438: The High Commissioner appointed a council of international trustees to administer the museum. The council consisted of twelve members: two representing the High Commissioner, one from the British Academy, one from the British Museum, one from the French National Academy, one from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two from the Antiquities Departments of the Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi or Transjordanian governments; one from

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6604-448: The Israel Antiquities Authority 1972–1997, cited a leaked memo issued from James Tabor before the symposium as proof of "outside intervention by Simcha and Tabor in order to distort the agenda and skew the proceedings in a way that was favorable to their pre-conceived plan". Géza Vermes (a major and well-respected scholar on the historical Jesus ) issued a statement saying that ”The evidence so far advanced falls far short of proving that

6731-477: The Jordanian Department of Antiquities, headed by Gerald Lankester Harding until 1956. In 1966, the museum was nationalized by King Hussein during the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank . Seven months later, when the 1967 Six-Day War broke out, the museum was captured by an Israeli paratroop brigade. Its hexagonal tower was used as a lookout. Fierce fighting took place here between Israeli and Jordanian forces, culminating in an Israeli victory. The Museum

6858-452: The Manhattan Project whose task was to build an atomic weapon. Once built, it was decided, with British consent, to use the weapon against Japan. The UK was one of the Big Three powers (along with the US and the Soviet Union) who met to plan the post-war world ; it drafted the Declaration by United Nations with the United States and became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . It worked closely with

6985-425: The Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has occasionally been used as a description for the former Kingdom of Great Britain , although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain". The Acts of Union 1800 formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as

7112-449: The New Testament or the Talpiyot tomb. "According to the rationale of the filmmakers, these people should not have existed." United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a country in Northwestern Europe , off the coast of the continental mainland . It comprises England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . The UK includes

7239-495: The Scottish electorate voting by 55.3 to 44.7% to remain part of the United Kingdom. In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union . The UK left the EU in 2020. On 1 May 2021, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the UK's economy , caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics in 2020 and 2021. The United Kingdom

7366-508: The Talpiot Tomb has no connection whatsoever with the historical Jesus. The Lost Tomb of Jesus premiered on The Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007, timed to coordinate with publication of Jacobovici's book The Jesus Family Tomb . Jacobovici argues that the bones of Jesus , Mary and Mary Magdalene , along with those of some of their relatives, were once entombed in this cave, working with statisticians , archaeologists, historians, DNA experts, robot-camera technicians, epigraphers and

7493-514: The Talpiot Tomb was Jesus’ tomb.” An edition of the scientific journal Near Eastern Archaeology (Vol. 69, Iss. 3/4, Sep–Dec 2006), published by The American Schools of Oriental Research contains several articles concerning the Talpiot Tomb, including an overview over the controversy. In a debate with The Dallas Morning News evangelical scholar Darrell L. Bock ( Dallas Theological Seminary ) and agnostic scholar Bart D. Ehrman ( University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ) both concluded that

7620-428: The Talpiot tomb is, or even could be, the tomb of the family of Jesus of Nazareth. The identification of the ossuary of Mariamne with that of Mary Magdalene of the Gospels has no support whatever and without it the case collapses. The conference, primarily devoted to the problem of afterlife in Second Temple Judaism, was useful in airing the latest views on ancient Jewish burial practices and modern science. Apart from

7747-430: The UK has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It is a nuclear state , and is ranked fifth globally in military expenditure . The UK has been a permanent member of the UN Security Council since its first session in 1946. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , Council of Europe , G7 , OECD , NATO , Five Eyes , AUKUS and CPTPP . British influence can be observed in

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7874-412: The UK have been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic . In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement . In 1066, the Normans conquered England . With the end of the Wars of the Roses the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales , the domination of Scotland , and

8001-404: The UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State , and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom. The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the " Pax Britannica " between 1815 and 1914. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost

8128-484: The UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the UK. Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0  °C (32  °F ) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F). Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience

8255-433: The UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include Cornwall , the New Forest , the South Downs and the Norfolk Broads . Upland areas include the Lake District , the Pennines , the Yorkshire Dales , Exmoor , and Dartmoor . The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames , Severn , and the Humber . England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike , at 978 metres (3,209 ft) in the Lake District; its largest island

8382-402: The United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government". The UK Permanent Committee on Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it

8509-411: The United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible. The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine. Climate change has a serious impact on the country. A third of food price rise in 2023 is attributed to climate change. As of 2022, the United Kingdom

8636-436: The United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British , English , Scottish , Welsh , Northern Irish , or Irish ; or as having a combination of different national identities. Settlement by Cro-Magnons of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. The island has been continuously inhabited only since

8763-491: The United Kingdom. The 1928 Equal Franchise Act gave women electoral equality with men in national elections. Strikes in the mid-1920s culminated in the General Strike of 1926 . Britain had still not recovered from the effects of the First World War when the Great Depression (1929–1932) led to considerable unemployment and hardship in the old industrial areas, as well as political and social unrest with rising membership in communist and socialist parties. A coalition government

8890-478: The United States to establish the IMF , World Bank and NATO . The war left the UK severely weakened and financially dependent on the Marshall Plan , but it was spared the total war that devastated eastern Europe. In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government under Clement Attlee initiated a radical programme of reforms, which significantly impacted British society in the following decades . Major industries and public utilities were nationalised ,

9017-401: The acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies , particularly in North America and the Caribbean. Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to the Treaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments. On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed,

9144-574: The ancient Dead Sea Scrolls were housed in the Rockefeller Museum. In 1967, following the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem , Israel relocated the scrolls to the Shrine of the Book , a specially designed building on the grounds of the Israel Museum, in West Jerusalem , with the ownership of these scrolls having been heavily contested ever since. Part of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll , had been taken to

9271-487: The archaeological work at Talpiot tomb, disagrees. According to Prof Kloner, the James Ossuary could not have come from the Talpiot tomb, because the so-called missing ossuary of the Talpiot tomb had no inscription and was of different dimensions. On February 25, 2007, Feuerverger conducted a statistical calculation on the name cluster as part of The Lost Tomb of Jesus . He concluded that the odds are at least 600 to 1 that

9398-556: The area supervisor for the Israel Department of Antiquities (IDA, now the Israel Antiquities Authority, or IAA.) Kloner drew up a set of preliminary sketches and requested a permit for a salvage dig to be directed by Yosef Gat. The permit was issued Monday, March 31, but work actually began the day before. Although it has been said that the team was given only three days to complete the work, Gat's notes indicate that

9525-402: The area, a tomb of this type would be assumed to have belonged to a wealthy Jewish family . About 900 similar tombs have been unearthed in the same area. The tomb was discovered on March 28, 1980, by construction workers laying the foundations for an apartment complex, when preparatory demolition work accidentally uncovered the tomb's entrance. The site was visited the next day by Amos Kloner ,

9652-471: The case and that he felt "totally vindicated". Jacobovici has denied making any such press release. It was during this symposium that Ruth Gat, while accepting a posthumous award for Yosef Gat, announced: "My husband, the lead archaeologist of the East Talpiot tomb in southern Jerusalem, believed that the tomb he excavated in 1980 was, indeed, the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family." However, scholars in

9779-730: The collection of The Jordan Museum . Prior to the establishment of the Museum, the British Mandate 's Department of Antiquities and British School of Archaeology were housed in an old building in Jerusalem with a small exhibition hall. The only other archaeological museum in Jerusalem at the time was the Franciscan Biblical Museum, built in 1902. Before the First World War , there had been an Ottoman Imperial Museum of Antiquities in Jerusalem ( Müze-i Hümayun ; 1901–1917). In 1919, British town planner Patrick Geddes proposed

9906-469: The combination of names appeared in the tomb by chance. A summary can be found on the Discovery Channel and documentary websites. A more detailed explanation of the statistical approach can be found also on Feuerverger's website as well as in a recent interview given to Scientific American . The frequency distribution for names prevalent during the period of time during which ossuary burials took place

10033-423: The controversy and reiterated concerns that: the press following the symposium gave almost the exact opposite impression ( of the symposium's results ), stating, instead, that the conference proceedings gave credence to the identification of the Talpiot tomb with a putative family tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. As is abundantly clear from the statements to the contrary that have been issued since the symposium by many of

10160-481: The dead as the New Testament describes. This conclusion, while weakly supported by a statistical analysis of the names involved, is rejected by the overwhelming majority of archaeologists , Christian theologians , linguists , and biblical scholars . The archaeological team that excavated the tomb in 1980 determined it to be from the Second Temple period , which lasted from about 515 BCE to 70  CE . Typical of

10287-697: The decades-long process of European integration , the UK was a founding member of the Western European Union , established with the London and Paris Conferences in 1954. In 1960 the UK was one of the seven founding members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but in 1973 it left to join the European Communities (EC). In a 1975 referendum 67% voted to stay in it. When the EC became

10414-477: The eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream , bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills. The average total annual sunshine in

10541-514: The establishment of an antiquities museum in Jerusalem. To further the project, the Mandate authorities proposed a special tourism tax in 1924. Visiting Mandatory Palestine in 1925, James Henry Breasted , founder and director of the University of Chicago 's Oriental Institute, recognized the need for an archaeological museum in Jerusalem to house important regional finds. Encouraged by Lord Plumer ,

10668-630: The establishment of the British Empire . Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War . In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from

10795-401: The expertise to read the inscriptions. The tomb is carved from the solid limestone bedrock . Within are six kokhim , or burial shafts and two arcosolia , or arched shelves where a body could be laid out for entombment. The ossuaries were found within the shafts. Ten limestone ossuaries were found, with six of them bearing epigraphs although only four of them were recognized as such in

10922-470: The field. The archaeological team determined the ossuaries to be of little note, and delivered them to the Rockefeller Museum for analysis and storage. According to Jacobovici, Cameron, and religious studies professor James Tabor , one of the unmarked ossuaries later disappeared when it was stored in a courtyard outside the museum. This claim has been criticized by both Joe Zias , former curator of

11049-575: The first year, Britain and its Empire continued the war against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort. In 1940, the Royal Air Force defeated the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain . Urban areas suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz . The Grand Alliance of Britain, the United States and

11176-400: The floor of the tomb below the 0.5 metre (2') fill layer, and crushed bones were found in the fill upon the arcosolia. The scattering of these bones below the fill indicated that the tomb had been disturbed in antiquity. All the bones were eventually turned over to religious authorities for burial. A chevron and circle pattern is visible above the entrance of the tomb. The BBC first aired

11303-435: The following data to show just how common the names on these ossuaries are: Out of a total number of 2625 males, these are the figures for the ten most popular male names among Palestinian Jews. The first figure is the total number of occurrences (from this number, with 2625 as the total for all names, you could calculate percentages), while the second is the number of occurrences specifically on ossuaries. For women, there are

11430-569: The formal control it exerted over its own colonies, British dominance of much of world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of regions such as East Asia and Latin America . Throughout the Victorian era , political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies. Beginning with the Great Reform Act in 1832, Parliament gradually widened the voting franchise , with

11557-731: The global hegemon and adopted the role of global policeman. From 1853 to 1856, Britain took part in the Crimean War , allied with the Ottoman Empire against Tsarist Russia , participating in the naval battles of the Baltic Sea known as the Åland War in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland , among others. Following the Indian Rebellion in 1857 , the British government led by Lord Palmerston assumed direct rule over India . Alongside

11684-460: The historical record and further divided that result (608,000) by 1,000 to attempt to account for the number of explored tombs from first century Jerusalem. Feuerverger's conclusions have been called into question: Stephan Pfann (president of Jerusalem's University of the Holy Land ) points out that the commonality of these names suggests that the probability is much lower. "Remarkably, a mere 16 of

11811-736: The island of Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland , and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles , making up a total area of 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ). Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland ; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , the North Sea , the English Channel , the Celtic Sea , and

11938-403: The kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots , inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions. In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in

12065-408: The last retreat of the ice around 11,500 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period , the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic , comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland . The Roman conquest , beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain , was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing

12192-409: The legal and political systems of many of its former colonies , and British culture remains globally influential, particularly in language , literature , music and sport . English is the world's most widely spoken language and the third-most spoken native language . The Acts of Union 1707 declared that the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by

12319-524: The local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and tried unsuccessfully to annex Scotland . Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath , Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England . In 1215 the Magna Carta was the first document to state that no government was above the law, that citizens have rights protecting them and that they were entitled to

12446-600: The major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel . The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London

12573-669: The mid-1920s, most of the British population could listen to BBC radio programmes. Experimental television broadcasts began in 1929 and the first scheduled BBC Television Service commenced in 1936. The rise of Irish nationalism , and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule , led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921. A period of conflict in what is now Northern Ireland occurred from June 1920 until June 1922. The Irish Free State became independent, initially with Dominion status in 1922, and unambiguously independent in 1931 . Northern Ireland remained part of

12700-571: The museum has been jointly managed by the Israel Museum and the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (later reorganized as the Israel Antiquities Authority ). The museum's first curator was John H. Iliffe, who arranged the artifacts in chronological order, from two million years ago to 1700 AD. Among the museum's prized possessions are 8th-century wooden panels from the Jami Al-Aqsa and 12th-century ( Crusader -period) marble lintels from

12827-545: The museum in English , Hebrew , and Arabic . The Palestine Archaeological Museum opened to the public on January 13, 1938. The museum's opening was overshadowed by the murder of British archaeologist James Leslie Starkey by local Arabs. Until the final days of the Mandate period, the museum was administered by the British Palestine Government. On 1 April 1948, it was closed to the public. On 20 April 1948,

12954-438: The museum, and Kloner. Each of the ten ossuaries contained human remains, said to be in an "advanced state of deterioration" by Amos Kloner. The tomb may have been multi-generational, with several generations of bones stored in each ossuary, but no record was kept of their contents and no analysis appears to have been done to determine how many individuals were represented by the bones found. In addition, three skulls were found on

13081-401: The name " Jesus ". Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, notes that there were at least 21 "Yeshuas" or Jesuses famous enough to be included in the histories of Josephus . For their part, the filmmakers present a statistical study conducted by Andrey Feuerverger , professor of statistics and mathematics at the University of Toronto , which concluded that while

13208-446: The names are not uncommon, the conservative odds that such names would be found together in any one tomb around are (depending on variables) from 600 to 1 to 1,000,000 to 1 in favor of its being authentic. Later in 2013, Andrey Feuerverger concluded that the possibility that the Talpiot tomb (Tomb 1) belongs to a family with some connection to the New Testament is one that should be seriously considered. He stated as follows: "The author

13335-490: The new museum was laid on June 19, 1930, but construction was delayed due to the discovery of tombs dating to the fifth century B.C. at the building site. The museum features a stone bas-relief of the meeting of Asia and Africa above the main entrance together with ten stone reliefs illustrating different cultures and a gargoyle fountain in the inner courtyard carved in 1934 by the British sculptor Eric Gill (1882–1940). Gill also produced stone carved signage throughout

13462-463: The only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed in 1927 to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries . The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for

13589-403: The participants, such representations are patently false and blatantly misrepresent the spirit and scholarly content of the deliberations. The proceedings of the symposium were edited by James Charlesworth and published in 2013. At the end of the symposium, Charlesworth stated that “Most archaeologists, epigraphers, and other scientists argued persuasively that there is no reason to conclude that

13716-489: The previously unexcavated 1st-century Jewish tomb next to the tomb. Tabor indicated that they would be released at a press conference in November 2011, and in a forthcoming book. A central question has regarded the probability that a tomb might contain the specific group of names as the Talpiot Tomb. Experts such as Richard Bauckham , David Mavorah and Amos Kloner have asserted the commonness of archaeological inscriptions bearing

13843-415: The purview of statistics to conclude whether or not this tombsite is that of the New Testament family. Feuerverger multiplied the instances that each name appeared during the tomb's time period with the instances of every other name. He initially found "Jesus Son of Joseph" appeared once out of 190 times, Mariamne appeared once out of 160 times and so on: He next divided 2,432,000 by 4 to account for bias in

13970-497: The rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail, and a professed Catholic could never accede to the throne. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system . With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power and the interest in voyages of discovery led to

14097-568: The result of the Acts of Union 1707 between the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland . In the 18th century, cabinet government developed under Robert Walpole , in practice the first prime minister (1721–1742). A series of Jacobite uprisings sought to remove the Protestant House of Hanover from the throne and restore the Catholic House of Stuart . The Jacobites were finally defeated at

14224-410: The seminary underlined that Yosef Gath had died well before the inscriptions in the tomb were deciphered and translated and, therefore, could not have known of any connection of the tomb. Amos Kloner , who had worked with Gath in the tomb, also denied that Gath had ever said anything like that, and accused Jacobovici of influencing Mrs Gath's opinion. Following the media's portrayal, scholars present at

14351-399: The symposium accused Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron of misleading the media in claiming that the symposium reopened their theory as viable. Several scholars, including significantly all of the archaeologists and epigraphers, who had delivered papers at the symposium issued an open letter of complaint claiming misrepresentation, saying that Jacobovici and Cameron's claims of support from

14478-473: The symposium are "nothing further from the truth" and also "that the majority of scholars in attendance—including all of the archaeologists and epigraphers who presented papers relating to the tomb—either reject the identification of the Talpiot tomb as belonging to Jesus’ family or find this claim highly speculative" and that "the probability of the Talpiot tomb belonging to Jesus’ family is virtually nil". Joe Zias , Senior Curator of Archaeology/Anthropology for

14605-502: The tomb, which was being used as a genizah . The tomb, which is not open to the public, is located in a courtyard on Dov Gruner Street, down a flight of stairs at the corner of Olei Hagardom and Avshalom Haviv Streets. It was reopened in 2005 by Jacobovici, without permission from the Antiques Authority, during filming of his documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus , and resealed by officials shortly thereafter. In 2008, Ruth Gat,

14732-436: The twelve NUTS 1 regions , refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences". The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination. It

14859-542: The understanding that Bovon had identified Mariamne as the most likely name of Mary Magdalene, Bovon did not hold that belief. Feuerverger noted in his rejoinder to comments that this false understanding so perturbed his calculation that this means that we cannot (on the basis of our RR procedure) say that the Talpiyot find is statistically significant in any meaningful way. Richard Bauckham (Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor at St Andrews ) compiled

14986-428: The widow of the archaeologist who supervised the original excavation, claimed that her husband kept the discovery a secret until the mid-1990s because he feared a wave of antisemitism would ensue if the tomb's existence was made public. However, such claims have been rejected by scholars, who pointed out that Yosef Gat died well before the inscriptions in the tomb were deciphered and translated and, in any case, he lacked

15113-446: The work proceeded "intermittently" until its official end on April 11, with most of the work completed within the first two days. Construction of the apartment buildings was completed in 1982. The children of Tova Bracha, a local resident, managed to get into the tomb and play inside. Bracha notified the authorities, who sealed the entrance for safety reasons. The children found some discarded Jewish religious texts that had been placed in

15240-586: Was based on several assumptions: Support for these assumptions comes, according to the documentary, from the following claims: Further information regarding the methodology was published in The Annals of Applied Statistics . According to geologist Aryeh Shimron the tomb could be authentic and linked to the James Ossuary . He believes that the tomb is the tomb of the family of Jesus – Jesus, Mary Magdalene and their son Judah. However, Prof. Amos Kloner, who oversaw

15367-598: Was chosen as the defining point of the Prime Meridian at the International Meridian Conference in 1884. The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N , and longitudes 9° W and 2° E . Northern Ireland shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long, though measurements can vary greatly due to

15494-462: Was formed in 1931. Nonetheless, "Britain was a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system." After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Britain entered the Second World War . Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government in 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies in

15621-405: Was inferred by studying two key sources: According to Prof. Feuerverger, the goal of the statistical analysis is to assess the probability level of a null hypothesis : A 'null hypothesis' can be thought of here as asserting that this cluster of names arose purely by chance under random sampling from the onomasticon . The alternative hypothesis is the opposite of this, in some sense. It is not in

15748-648: Was laid in June 1930, and the museum opened in January 1938. Initially managed by an international body, it was nationalized by the Jordanians in 1966. During the Six-Day War in 1967, battles occurred in the area, and the museum came under Israeli control . Renamed the "Rockefeller Museum," it is now managed by the Israel Museum and houses the head office of the Israel Antiquities Authority . The Museum's most prized collection,

15875-493: Was produced in 2007 by director James Cameron and journalist Simcha Jacobovici , and was released in conjunction with a book by Jacobovici and Charles R. Pellegrino titled The Jesus Family Tomb . The book and film make the case that the Talpiot Tomb was the burial place of Jesus of Nazareth , members of his extended family , and several other figures from the New Testament —and, by inference, that Jesus had not risen from

16002-432: Was the first country in the world to use an approved COVID-19 vaccine , developing its own vaccine through a collaboration between Oxford University and AstraZeneca , which allowed the UK's vaccine rollout to be among the fastest in the world. The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ), with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km ). The country occupies

16129-399: Was then officially renamed as the Rockefeller Museum. The Museum's most prized collection, the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls , were moved by Israel from the Museum to the Israel Museum , in West Jerusalem , with the ownership of the scrolls having been heavily contested ever since. Part of the scrolls, including the Copper Scroll , had been taken to the Jordan Museum in Amman. Since 1967,

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