Ginosar, Israel occupied Palestine
Coordinates: 32.844311, 35.525178
The Ancient Galilee Boat, also known as the Jesus Boat, is an ancient fishing boat from the 1st century AD, discovered in 1986 on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel occupied Palestine.
Although there is not evidence connecting this boat to Hz. Isa عليه اسلام, carbon dating puts this boat around that time showcasing what kinds of boat were used around 2000 years ago
Discovery of the boat
The remains of the Ancient Galilee Boat were found by brothers Moshe and Yuval Lufan, fishermen from Kibbutz Ginnosar.
The brothers were keen amateur archaeologists with an interest in discovering artifacts from Palestine’s past.
It had always been their hope to one day discover a boat in the Sea of Galilee, where they and generations of their family had fished.
When drought reduced the water-level of the lake, the two brothers examined the newly exposed beach and stumbled across the remains of the boat buried in the shore.
The brothers reported their discovery to the authorities who sent out a team of archaeologists to investigate.
The team realised that the remains of the boat were of tremendous historical importance to Jews and Christians alike, and so archaeological dig followed.
Rumour spread that the boat was full of gold and the dig had to be guarded night and day.
Excavating the boat from the mud without damaging it, quickly enough to extract it before the water rose again, was a difficult process which lasted 12 days and nights.
The ancient wood was extremely fragile when exposed to the atmosphere and the boat had to be rescued from the place it was found by wrapping it in a mantle of fiberglass and insulating foam, which helped with both keeping it together, and floating it to its new location.
It was then submerged in a wax bath for 12 years, which protected the boat before it could be displayed at the Boat Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar.
Significance to christians
The boat is important to Christians because this was the sort of boat used by Hz. Isa عليه اسلام and his disciples, several of whom were fishermen.
Boats such as this played a large role in Hz. Isa’s عليه اسلام life and mission, and are mentioned 50 times in the Gospels, though there is no evidence connecting the Sea of Galilee Boat itself directly to Hz. Isa عليه اسلام or his disciples.
Note: Some of the information in this article comes from Christians sources.
