The Testimonium (28 page)

“These items seem awfully clean and well preserved to be so old,” the reporter said. “How were they not rusted and decomposed after twenty centuries?”

“That is a perceptive question,” said Rossini. “From what I have learned, the roof of the Villa Jovis remained intact until the fifth century and maybe even later. That would have kept any moisture from penetrating the chamber, and allowed a protective coat of dry, sterile stone dust to cover the artifacts. And even with the roof collapsed, the fact that the Villa sits on one of the highest points on the island meant there was no ground-level moisture to accumulate in the chamber. And even in ruins, much of the guttering and water channels of the ancient villa remained intact, so that moisture, the great corruptor of perishable artifacts, had little chance of invading the chamber. So the dust piled up, dried, and sealed these ancient relics until last Sunday.”

Cynthia Brown, an American correspondent, asked the next question. “When can we see the chamber where these artifacts were recovered?” she asked.

“The Villa Jovis will reopen to the public this afternoon,” said Castolfo. “If he is willing, I bet that Dr. Rossini would enjoy taking some of you on a walking tour of the site.” Rossini nodded his assent.

Several more questions came from various sources, many of them variations on what had already been asked. It was nearly an hour before Dr. Castolfo rose and drew the conference to its conclusion. After the last journalist exited the room, Dr. Vincent Sinisi stood from where he had been quietly seated on the back row and applauded. “For a bunch of antiquarians, you guys are rock stars!” he said. “The conference could not have gone better! Come to the board’s conference room upstairs—dinner is on me!”

The entire governing board of the Bureau of Antiquities was waiting for them, and burst into applause when they entered the room. There was a lavish buffet of seafood and pasta laid out, and soon the starving archeologists were allowed to sit and stuff themselves. All of them had been too keyed up and nervous for breakfast, and they addressed their food with gusto. As they wrapped up the meal, Dr. Guioccini came over and laid his hand on Rossini’s shoulder.

“Giuseppe,” he said, “There are twenty-five journalists waiting for your tour of the site. We have helicopters standing by. Are you about ready?”

Rossini heaved a long sigh. “I am ready for a long, delightful nap!” he said. “But, I suppose if duty calls, I must answer. But only on the condition that I can leave the site and return to my home for the evening when I am done!”

“Of course,” laughed Bernardo. “You have earned it. Isabella, would you like to tag along?”

“No!” she said. “I have provided the cameras with enough fodder for one day. I would like to return to the lab and get some real work done.”

“By all means,” Guioccini said. “I cannot emphasize how happy the board is with today’s proceedings. It is a proud moment, not just for Italy, but for historians and archeologists all over the world! I imagine, when your work here is done, that each of you will be able to write your own ticket at any university on earth.”

He and Rossini headed off together, and the four remaining members of the team looked at the cracked lobster tails and crab shells piled up on their empty plates. Josh gave a groan.

“Are you sure we have to go back to work?” he said.

“Come, lad, the Lord hates a whiner!” Father MacDonald replied.

And the team headed back to the research lab.

AMAZING DISCOVERY ON CAPRI!

EMPEROR’S CHAMBER OF SECRETS MAY BE TIED TO THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS

(AP) Italy’s Bureau of Antiquities has revealed a remarkable trove of historical treasures uncovered by a recent earthquake at the Villa Jovis, an ancient Roman ruin on the Isle of Capri. The chamber where the artifacts were found was probably sealed in 37 AD, according to Dr. Isabella Sforza, the lead archaeologist on the site. Among the artifacts recovered are a personal letter from the Emperor Tiberius to his steward, a sword that is believed to have belonged to the famous Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar, and the last will and testament of Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus. But by far the most remarkable artifact to emerge from the site is a scroll, inscribed on the outside by the Emperor Tiberius and sealed with his signet ring, entitled “The Testimony of Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judea.” Speculation abounds that the scroll, which has not yet been opened or read, may pertain to the crucifixion in 33 AD of Jesus of Nazareth, the founder of the Christian religion. Archeologists say that the scroll should be opened and read within the next two weeks.

(See photo layout on page A-2)

I am sorry to have troubled you for so long about this matter, Caesar, but I am afraid that the story does not yet end. The sun had not yet set on that endless Friday when emissaries from the High Priest came to see me yet again. As you can imagine, they found me in no good mood. Why could they not return to their sacrificial Passover lambs and leave me be?

“Noble proconsul,” purred old Annas. “While he was alive, this troublemaker repeatedly said that if he was killed, he would return to life on the third day. Could we trouble you for some guards to watch over the tomb until after the first day of the week? We fear his disciples may try to steal his body and proclaim him alive again, and then the deception will only grow worse!”

“You have your Temple guards,” I growled. “Guard the bloody tomb yourselves!”

They bowed and scurried out, anxious to return to their families before sunset, when their religious observance actually began. After they left, I called in my primus pilus centurion, Gaius Cassius Longinus, who had headed the crucifixion detail. He had sobered up some, but was obviously still troubled over his afternoon’s work.

“The Jews think someone may attempt to disturb the Galilean’s grave,” I told him. “First of all, are you sure that he was dead when his family cut him down from the cross?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” he said. “He had quit breathing a half hour before, but I still had one of my boys skewer his heart with a spear before I allowed them to cut him down. I have never seen anyone die so bravely, sir. Not a curse! In fact, he even prayed for us as he hung there. Asked his father to forgive us. I’ve never heard the like!”

“Never mind that,” I said. “Just make sure a couple of your legionaries keep an eye on that tomb for the next few days.”

They were still walking across the parking lot toward the lab when Josh’s phone rang. He recognized the number instantly. “Dr. Martens!” he said when he picked up. “How are you, sir?”

“Well, they are letting me hobble around on crutches now,” his mentor said. “I will graduate to a cane in the next day or two, and when I do, I am getting on a plane to Italy. What a discovery! Congratulations, Josh, I knew you would do me proud.”

Josh smiled. He thought the world of Dr. Martens, and the praise of his old professor was sweet music to his ears. “Honestly sir,” he said, “it was a team effort all the way. I have really enjoyed working with this fine group of archeologists. But I will say, when I saw the inscription on that scroll, my knees went out from under me—I’m just glad I didn’t drop it. I can’t wait till it begins to unroll and reveal its secrets. This is the biggest find in the history of Biblical archeology!”

“You’re going to need an experienced paleographer to look at it when you get it open,” said Martens. “I’ve studied ancient Greek and Latin script for years. I would love to get a look at that scroll and analyzing the handwriting.”

“You and about every other classical archeologist in the world!” laughed Josh. “But, since you are friends with Dr. Guioccini, I bet you will actually be able to do so.”

“I certainly hope so!” said Martens. “I just need to get this leg working properly again.”

“How is Alicia doing?” asked Josh.

“Very well,” said Martens. “She has been absolutely wonderful throughout this whole mess—still insists it was all her fault, but I was the one who strapped on the skis. She is a great help to me getting around, though, and I’m sure she’ll be coming to Italy with me. By the way, that Dr. Sforza is a very lovely lady, and I have heard she is a talented archeologist to boot. How is she to work with?”

“She’s pretty awesome,” Josh said. “As a supervisor, I mean!” Isabella, who had been eavesdropping a bit, dug her elbow in his ribs. “Well, truth be told, she is pretty awesome all the way around. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her.”

The older man responded, “Sounds as if you’ve gotten to know her quite well. Don’t tell me that heart of flint has finally begun to thaw a bit?”

“Maybe just a little, sir!” Josh said with a laugh, unwilling to admit that his heart had actually turned to Jell-O.

“Then she must be a remarkable girl indeed,” said the professor. “You know Alicia only became interested in me after she utterly failed to get any response from you!”

Josh was stunned. He’d had no idea that Alicia had ever been interested in him. “Wow,” he finally said. “Was I really that clueless?”

“Fortunately for me, you were!” said Martens. They chatted a minute more before Josh hung up.

Isabella looked at him. “Was that your father?” she asked, apparently having missed Josh’s initial greeting.

“No,” he said. “But he is a very dear friend, and my mentor in the world of archeology.”

“Ah, Dr. Martens!” she said. “I have not met him, but his published works are an absolute necessity for anyone in our field.”

“Well,” said Josh, “you are going to get to meet him soon, I think. He is planning to come to Italy as soon as he is mobile.”

“That’s right,” she said. “He was in a ski accident, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, several weeks back,” said Josh.

“So what were you clueless about?” she teased.

“That,” Josh said with a raised eyebrow, “is none of your business, Doctor Sforza!”

“Must have been a girl!” she laughed, and he shot her a venomous glance.

By now they were back in the lab, and Dr. MacDonald was already hunched over staring at the rehydration tanks. They joined him, and saw that both scrolls had begun to unroll already. About six inches of the Pilate manuscript had been revealed, while the smaller Augustus manuscript had unrolled further, with about half the document now being revealed.

“Marvelous!” said MacDonald as they looked over his shoulder. “I believe we can actually read the Augustus scroll right now—being smaller, it has unrolled as far as the wall of the tank will allow. I think when I pull it out on the viewing table that it will unroll completely. Josh, would you assist me? And Isabella, would you be so kind as to fetch Simone from the other lab? I would like all of us to be here when we read this scroll.”

“I think we should notify Castolfo and Guioccini as well,” said Isabella, and MacDonald nodded.

“It’s a shame Giuseppe is going back to Capri. I wonder if he has boarded the helicopter yet,” Josh wondered.

“I don’t know,” said MacDonald. “And I am not sure if Guioccini was going with him or not. Hopefully Isabella will catch them before they depart.”

As the others were summoned, Joshua carefully covered a lengthy section of the viewing table with acid-free paper, and set two padded steel clamps above it about a meter apart. Once the scroll was unrolled, they would serve to hold each end in place while MacDonald sprayed the scroll with a stabilizing solution that would preserve the ancient papyrus while also keeping it in a flat position. As soon as he was done prepping the table, MacDonald donned his gloves and lowered the front pane of the rehydration tank. He very gently lifted the scroll out of the tank and laid it on the table, where the curled end immediately unrolled almost completely. He pushed down gently on the end that was still slightly curled up until he was able to slide it under the clamp, and then slowly lowered the clamp onto the end of the papyrus until the entire scroll was flattened on top of the viewing table. He clamped the other end, which was already lying flat, in place, and then got out an aerosol can of his special stabilizing spray. Holding it about eight inches over the ancient papyrus, he deliberately sprayed from one end to the other, making several passes to be sure that every part of the ancient document was covered. The solution soaked in immediately, and the papyrus became a slight shade darker as the liquid bonded to its cells.

While MacDonald was still spraying, Simone Apriceno came in, and moments later Guioccini and Rossini entered, both flushed and out of breath. Dr. Castolfo followed on their heels. Isabella’s call had caught the three of them on the helicopter pad, and they had asked the pilot to wait for a half hour so that they could witness the reading of the scroll. Castolfo was on his cell phone with the journalists on Capri, explaining that the guided tour would be postponed for a short time. Meanwhile, MacDonald continued his spraying until he had completely coated the papyrus with stabilizer, then moved the magnifying viewer directly over the ancient document and turned on the jumbo flat-screen monitor overhead so that they could all see the writing on the papyrus clearly.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “The rehydration tanks have done their work very well. This scroll was the smaller of the two, and it was over halfway unrolled when we returned from the reception. It would have unrolled further, but the end of the scroll had come to a stop against the side of the tank. Once I removed it and laid it on the flat table, all but the last few centimeters unrolled very easily. Now the scroll is stabilized, and we can study it to our hearts’ content.”

Rossini admired the script on the large viewer. “What wonderful calligraphy!” he commented.

“Most ancient historians commented on the clear and forceful style of Caesar’s writing,” said Josh. “We can see from this that they were talking not only about his wordcraft but about his penmanship as well. This is about the easiest reading I have ever seen on any ancient document.”

“Why don’t you read it to us, Josh?” said the priest.

Parker complied in a loud, clear voice, reading in Latin: