Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone

The only physical remains of a Roman crucifixion victim from Judea, with the iron nail still in place

Herod, Yeshua & Jerusalem's Fall · human remains, ossuary / tomb · Accepted by scholars · found 1968

How Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone was found

Road construction exposed tombs at Giv'at ha-Mivtar in northern Jerusalem. One ossuary inscribed 'Yehohanan ben Hagkol' held a man in his 20s whose right heel bone was pierced by an 11.5 cm iron nail, bent at the tip, with a fragment of olive wood still attached.

What it is

A right calcaneus (heel bone) with a bent iron nail driven through it sideways, with a small wooden plaque under the nail head and traces of olive wood from the upright. The ossuary's Aramaic label gives the victim's name.

Why it matters for the Bible

It proves that the Romans crucified Jews in Judea in the 1st century, that nails were used through the feet, and that a crucified man could still receive an honorable family burial — answering doubts that Yeshua's body would have been released for burial. Haas's first reconstruction (nails through both heels and the forearms) was revised by Zias: each heel was nailed separately to the sides of the post, and the arms were probably tied.

The Hebrew word: ta-LAH

תָּלָה

תָּלָה is pronounced ta-LAH and means to hang (up) — the verb used of hanging on a tree in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (Strong's H8518).

People this discovery connects to

• Yeshua (Jesus) — יֵשׁוּעַ (Ye-SHOO-ah) — YHVH saves; Greek Iesous (G2424)

Places

• Golgotha — גֻּלְגֹּלֶת (gul-GO-let) — skull (Aramaic Gulgalta; Greek Golgotha, G1115)

Events

Crucifixion of Yeshua · Burial by Joseph of Arimathea

Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone in Scripture

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 The command to bury a hanged man the same day, which explains why Yehohanan and Yeshua were both buried quickly.

Matthew 10:38 First mention of Crucifixion in Scripture.

John 20:25 Thomas speaks of 'the mark of the nails'; this bone shows what a Roman nail did.

Questions people ask

What is Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone?
A right calcaneus (heel bone) with a bent iron nail driven through it sideways, with a small wooden plaque under the nail head and traces of olive wood from the upright. The ossuary's Aramaic label gives the victim's name.

When was Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone discovered?
It was found in 1968 by Vassilios Tzaferis (Israel Department of Antiquities); bones studied by Nicu Haas (1970) and re-studied by Joseph Zias and Eliezer Sekeles (1985), at Giv'at ha-Mivtar, north Jerusalem.

Where is Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone today?
Israel Antiquities Authority (bones reburied); replica displayed at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Which Bible verses does Yehohanan's Crucified Heel Bone relate to?
Deuteronomy 21:22-23, Matthew 10:38, John 20:25.

Related discoveries

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  The only 1st-century burial shroud from Jerusalem, with the remains of a man who had leprosy
• אָח
  James Ossuary
  'Yaakov bar Yosef, brother of Yeshua' — an unprovenanced box at the center of a forgery trial
• בֵּית לֶחֶם
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  Constantine's basilica over the cave of Yeshua's birth, its 4th-century mosaics and the 2013–2020 restoration
• גֻּלְגֹּלֶת
  Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Golgotha and the Tomb
  A 1st-century quarry, garden and rock-cut tombs beneath the traditional site of the crucifixion and burial
• חֲזִיר
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• נֵצֶר
  Nazareth 1st-Century House
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Sources

• Tzaferis, 'Jewish Tombs at and near Giv'at ha-Mivtar', IEJ 20 (1970); Zias & Sekeles, 'The Crucified Man from Giv'at ha-Mivtar: A Reappraisal', IEJ 35 (1985)
• Biblical Archaeology Society: A Tomb in Jerusalem Reveals the History of Crucifixion
• Wikipedia: Jehohanan

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