How was the Jesus Boat discovered?The same issue of CT also has a review of the book The Jesus Boat: Living Proof of a Modern-Day Miracle in Galilee by Christian Stillman.
It was a real surprise. After four years of drought, in 1986 the Sea of Galilee had retreated. Two brothers, Jewish fishermen, were walking on the exposed seabed and found coins, pieces of wood, and iron nails. They called us to check into it.
We started cleaning some of the boat, and suddenly we saw the mortise and tenon joints. We found a Roman oil lamp and a Roman cooking pot. It was a boat from Roman times! This is what we had been waiting for.
At that moment, there appeared a beautiful double rainbow. It was like a blessing. We danced there like Indians from happiness.
Then the problems started. The wood was completely waterlogged so it was like wet cardboard. Our boss at the Department of Antiquities didn't have equipment. Our group was just two archaeologists, two fishermen, and two others. We had only three buckets and two shovels. An expedition like this normally brings with it a million dollars, a year of preparation, laboratories, and a 40-person professional crew.
I noted the Jesus Boat story a few years ago here.