19. The supposed childhood home of Jesus, the city of Nazareth was believed to have been a myth until recent archaeological discoveries brought this consensus into question
The alleged city of Jesus’ childhood, the existence of the city of Nazareth has not always been an accepted fact. Although the settlement exists today, located in the Northern District of modern-day Israel with a population in the tens of thousands, no evidence supporting the concurrent survival of Nazareth during the years of biblical relevance had been uncovered. Even the biblical narrative on the subject was hazy, with the Gospel of Luke claiming that Nazareth was the home village of Mary, as well as the site of the Annunciation, whilst the Gospel of Matthew asserted Joseph and Mary merely settled in Nazareth after the flight from Bethlehem.
Lacking historical evidence after the Bronze Age, seemingly disappearing for the duration of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, or Early Roman periods, opinion shifted to the belief that, at some point around 720 BCE, Nazareth was destroyed by the Assyrians (who also destroyed many other cities in the region). However, recent decades have seen Israeli archaeologists successfully excavate remains at the presumed location of Nazareth dating from the early Roman period and the time of Jesus’ birth. Challenging the centuries-old consensus, the debate has now resumed regarding the extent of human occupation in Nazareth at the start of the Common Era.