Perfume vials from Christ's era unearthed in IsraelWhy, oh why, did it have to be found in Magdala? The Mary Magdalene connection probably would have been dragged in anyhow, but this makes it irresistable. In fact, there is nothing in the Gospels that connects Mary Magdalene to the penitent sinful woman of Luke 7:36-50. The connection comes much later, I would imagine at the time when Mary began to be regarded as a reformed prostitute. (More on Mary Magdalene here.) What looks like a variant version of the same tradition appears in the other three canonical Gospels (Mark 14:3-9; Matthew 26:6-13, and John 11:2; 12:1-3). In that version there is nothing about the woman being sinful, and John identifies her as Mary the sister of Lazarus.
Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:57pm GMT
ROME (Reuters) - A team of Franciscan archaeologists digging in the biblical town of Magdala in what is now Israel say they have unearthed vials of perfume similar to those that may have been used by the woman said to have washed Jesus' feet.
The perfumed ointments were found intact at the bottom of a mud-filled swimming pool, alongside hair and make-up objects, the director of the dig conducted by the group Studium Biblicum Franciscanum told the Terrasanta.net religious website.
"If chemical analyses confirm it, these could be perfumes and creams similar to those that Mary Magdalene or the sinner cited in the Gospel used to anoint Christ's feet," Father Stefano de Luca, the lead archaeologist, told the website.
Mary Magdalene is cited in the New Testament as a steadfast disciple of Christ from whom seven demons were cast out. She is often considered the sinner who anointed Jesus' feet.
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The find is interesting and important, but it doesn't have even a tenuous historical connection with Mary Magdalene. Perhaps it does with the perfume-on-the-feet episode(s) in the Gospels, but it's very hard to say.
UPDATE (14 December): Useful comments from Todd Bolen here and Mark Goodacre here.