Film Claims To Have Found Nails From Cross of Jesus

Much attention has been given to Jesus's grave, and even his tunic. But not many people have focused on the actual nails that held him to the cross. Until now.

A new film called "The Nails of the Cross" claims to have located two of the nails used in Jesus's crucifixion in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Jerusalem. But despite filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici's claim, not everyone's buying it.

Reuters reports:

The film follows three years of research during which Jacobovici presents his assertions -- some based on empirical data, others requiring much imagination and a leap of faith.

He hails the find as historic, but most experts and scholars contacted by Reuters dismissed his case as far-fetched, some calling it a publicity stunt.

Many ancient relics, including other nails supposedly traced back to the crucifixion, have been presented over the centuries as having a connection to Jesus. Many were deemed phony, while others were embraced as holy.

Jacobovici, who sparked debate with a previous film that claimed to reveal the lost tomb of Jesus, says this find differs from others because of its historical and archaeological context.

"What we are bringing to the world is the best archaeological argument ever made that two of the nails from the crucifixion of Jesus have been found," Jacobovici told Reuters. Still, despite a the "best" argument, he admits that he can't say for sure they are the real deal.

"Do I know 100 percent yes, these are them? I don't."

Jacobovici's other controversial film, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," suggested his team had found Jesus's tomb:

His new film also centers around a tomb -- the supposed tomb of the High Priest Caiaphas. Nails found there, Jacobovici says, could have been "the" nails.

"If you look at the whole story, historical, textual, archaeological, they all seem to point at these two nails being involved in a crucifixion," he explained to Reuters. "And since Caiaphas is only associated with Jesus's crucifixion, you put two and two together and they seem to imply that these are the nails."

The Israel Antiquities Authority, which oversaw the tomb's excavation, doubts it.

"There is no doubt that the talented director Simcha Jacobovici created an interesting film with a real archaeological find at its center, but the interpretation presented in it has no basis in archaeological findings or research," it told the news agency.

This story has been updated.