Petrochemistry of Sediment and Organic Materials Sampled from Ossuaries and Two Nails from the Tomb of the Family of the High Priest Caiaphas, Jerusalem

We have studied the petrochemistry of degraded bones and sediment from the interior of four ossuaries (burial boxes) discovered in what is (arguably) believed to be the 1 st century CE family tomb of the high priest Caiaphas (he-rewith Cft) in Jerusalem. During the course of the 1990 excavation, among other artifacts (e.g., a coin found in a skull) two iron nails were discovered. One of the nails was inside an ossuary, the other on the floor of one of the nearby “kokhim” (burial niches) which contained Ossuaries 5 and 6. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) everything in the burial cave can be accounted for today except the iron nails “which have been mis-placed”, this without being properly recorded or photographed. Investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici believes that he has located the nails in the artifacts collection of the Anthropology laboratory at Tel Aviv University. The IAA, however, has stated that the lost nails from the Cft have nothing to do with the nails found at the university and the latter nails must have a different provenance. Wherever lies the truth, the presence of two nails in the Cft is of profound interest because in the New Testament the high priest Caiaphas was responsible for passing Jesus to the Romans who then sent him to the cross. The possibility that the nails were used in a crucifixion on the one hand and ploying geochemical and petrochemical Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and δ 18 O and δ 13 C isotope analyses we have found that the organic and inorganic materials flushed into the interior of the Cft but also those that have adhered to the two unprovenanced nails possess and display many identical, and what can also be termed unique chemical and physical characteristics. Based on the collective evidence we conclude, with considerable confidence, that the unprovenanced nails are the lost nails excavated from the Caiaphas family tomb in 1990 and furthermore that these nails were used in a crucifixion.


Introduction
"There is no proof whatsoever that those nails came from the cave of Caiaphas. There is no proof that the nails are connected to any bones, or that there is any bone residue attached to the nails. There is no proof from textual data that Caiaphas had the nails from the crucifixion with him after the crucifixion took place and after Jesus was taken down from the cross. (Prof. Gaby Barkai, Telegraph, UK, 12 April, 2011)." Such lofty declarations and academic disputes pertaining to the Caiaphas family tomb and two (arguably) crucifixion nails found therein have in major part been confined to the media and scholars in the fields of archaeology, anthropology and divinity. Besides the excavators few, if any, have examined or studied the ossuaries from the Cft (Caiaphas family tomb) and certainly not the nails above, was of adequate merit to inspire the scientific efforts below. Although the route following the present endeavours is rather lengthy we trust that what we here view as an original contribution not only to scientific thought of artifacts discovered in ancient ossuaries but also to Christianity at its very earliest, do these efforts justice.
What is referred to as the Caiaphas family tomb was discovered by construction workers in 1990 in the Jerusalem neighborhood of North Talpiyot, located about halfway between ancient Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Figure 1). The Cft is one of three tombs located within ~200 meters and less of the Lower (Hellenistic period, 1 st -2 nd century BC) aqueduct with (arguably) all displaying some evidence of early Christianity (Tabor and Jacobovici, 2012;Shimron et al., 2020).
The Cft was broken into by tomb robbers, probably during the Byzantine period.
Except for Ossuaries 5 and 6 which were found in their kokhim with their lids on, all ossuaries were moved from their rock shelves (Greenhut, 1992(Greenhut, , 2004 at this time. Ossuaries 1, 2, 3, and 4 were found whole whereas six additional ossuaries were found shattered but were later reconstructed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). A total of 12 ossuaries were removed from the tomb during the archaeological excavation. The exterior walls of five ossuaries are inscribed, and six are decorated with floral motifs, Ossuary 6 magnificently so (Greenhut, 1992, Figure 2(b)). The name "Caiapha" is inscribed on the latter and also on Ossuary 3. A coin of Herod Agripa 1 from the year 42 -43 CE was discovered in the scull inside Ossuary 8, besides precisely dating the tomb it also points to the pagan custom of placing a coin between the teeth of the deceased as payment to Charon, the ferryman in Greek mythology (Toynbee, 1971) thus pointing to the usage of this pagan custom in Jewish Jerusalem during this period (Hachlili & Killebrew, 1983;Tabor & Jacobovici, 2012). Most scholars agree with the excavators that the inscribed names refer to the family of the 1 st century CE Jewish high priest Kaiapha, transliterated "Caiaphas" in the New Testament.
Two iron nails were discovered during excavation of the tomb (Greenhut, 1992), one on the floor of the southern loculus (kokh IV) in which ossuaries 5 and 6 were contained, the other, according to the head excavator (Greenhut, 2004) inside Ossuary 1. Regarding the function of the nails, Rahmani (1961) suggested that nails found in tombs were used for fixing ossuary lids or for scratching the name of the deceased on an ossuary's side. This interpretation remains prevalent and is thus far the only opinion expressed in academic circles.
Consequently, the official IAA statement that the nails uncovered in the tomb during its excavation were misplaced or transferred to some unknown location did not cause any clamour.
About 20 years ago, Prof. I. Hershkovitz of the Sackler School of Medicine and Anthropology laboratory at Tel Aviv University received from the IAA two small boxes. One box was clearly marked as originating from the laboratory of the late Prof. Nicu Hass; the other box, which held two nails, was unmarked and the provenance of the nails that it contained was not specified. The two boxes were stored in the laboratory's safe. A few years ago Prof. Israel Hershkovitz showed them to journalist Simcha Jacobovici who, based on his investigation of the Caiaphas family tomb finds, hypothesized that the two unprovenanced nails in the unmarked box were the missing nails from the Cft (Jacobovici, 2014). He further surmised that, given their morphology, these nails may have been used in a crucifixion and furthermore, in view of their archaeological context (tomb of the high priest Caiaphas) the crucifixion may have been that of Jesus of Nazareth. Thus far the only unambiguous physical evidence of nails used in a crucifixion is the 11.5 cm long Heel Bone nail from the crucifixion of Yehohanan Ben Hagaol discovered in a Jerusalem tomb in 1968. The gravity of these implications have led us to carry out the present in-depth scientific investigation of materials in the Caiaphas tomb ossuaries and also of the two unprovenanced nails from Prof. Hershkovitz's laboratory. Such a geochemical-petrochemical study of

Sampling and Analytical Procedures
Sampling of sediment flushed into the Caiaphas tomb ossuaries was carried out by technician Oded Reviv of the IAA. A few grams (about 1 -2 teaspoonfuls) of loose sediment and/or fine rubble were collected from ossuaries 1, 3, 6 and 7 (a repaired ossuary) using a stainless steel spatula. Occasionally this was not feasible, in such case, sediment was scraped off from the ossuary bottom and/or ossuary walls (laminated wall crusts) with a stainless steel scalpel. Grain mounts for the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and polished and regular thin sections for study in transmitted light optical microscope were prepared from fine materials. The two unprovenanced nails were sampled in the laboratory of the Dept.
of Anthropology, Tel Aviv University. This was carried out by the senior author (AES) using a specially prepared stainless steel holder on which a small diamond bit was mounted. As sampling small artifacts is a destructive process only a small amount (maximum 1/4 teaspoonful) of rusted iron and carbonate carapace could be scrapped off from the oxidized surface of each nail. These materials were studied under the petrographic and scanning electron microscope and analyzed by SEM-EDX, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and δ 18 O and δ 13 C isotopic analyses. Prior to the above studies, the nails were examined and photographed intact under low power SEM magnification.
X-ray diffraction analyses were done at the geochemical laboratory of the  Optical microscope, and SEM examinations and eventually XRD analyses showed that much of the bone components in the ossuaries suffered degradation, micritization and recrystallization. For a climate entirely dry for about seven months of the year, more than the usual amount of moisture must have periodically entered the Cft ossuaries. This is well shown by a discreet wall and floor-parallel millimeters-thick internal lamination of fine sediment mixed with decayed bone rubble containing small amounts of other organic materials. It is particularly well manifested on the walls of Ossuary 6 (Figure 2(a)) as a white chalk (ossuary construction material) substratum (a) covered by a pale brown clayey soil layer (b) in turn covered by fine layers of lumpy phosphatic crusts (c) finally capped by a veneer of white carbonate flowstone carrying much aerosol quartzose dust (d). The vertical wall layers formed during fluctuating water level inside the ossuary and accretion onto the walls of fine sediment floating on the water interface. The ossuary floor (e) exhibits a similar horizontal micro-lamination with individual floor laminae of detritus carrying soil, micrograins of quartzose aerosol (Figure 3

Botryoidal Microstructures
Under the optical microscope the phosphatic crusts (above) are seen as fibrous, variously degraded (optically opaque) bone tissue containing here and there discontinuous quartzose clusters and lenses (Figure 3(a)). The laminae are frequently packed with concentrically zoned spheres, 10 -40 µm in diameter, seen as individuals, joined couplets or in the form of continuous films of what appear to be botryoidal forms ( Figure 6a). The spheres consist of 3 -4 outer concentric rings and an inner core of fibrous crystallites radiating around an opaque black carbon-rich core (Table 1, An. 17, 18). The surrounding cryptocrystalline remains of decayed bone tissue consist of fluorapatite with small amounts of fine quartz incorporated onto apatite micrograins and also as lenses and fine lamellae ( Figure 3(a), Table 1, An. 8 -11). We interpret the botryoidal biofilms of adhering spheres to be the result of bone decay due to microbial infestation responsible for the chemical dissolution of bone tissue. Some bone tissue has retained its bone microfabric and osteon rings with concentric lamellae ( Figure  5(c) and Table 1, An. 10, 11) remain well preserved. Besides degrading bone botryoidal structures are also common of certains types of iron oxides, goethite for example frequently grows in lumpy-botryoidal forms. In this case, they form when crystals grow radially around nuclei of specks of sand or dust culminating as microscopic but up to megascopic halfspheres. Such structures are also pronounced features of carbonate flowstone. In the present case, we demonstrate their presence in Ossuary 6 but also as oxidized iron of Nails 1 and 2. The chemistry of the laminated Fe-hydroxide botryoids reveals somewhat low FeO contents but high concentrations of what may be organic carbon (

Carbonate Flowstone: Acccretion Fringes
Accretion fringes are minor but important microstructures in the ossuaries. They are seen as fine laminae mantling clasts of quartz and bone fragments in Ossuary 6 and also as carbonate mantles around fragments of laminated iron oxides of the nails. The microcrystalline fringes are ~0.05 to 0.1 mm (50 -100 um) in diameter, in Ossuary 6 they consist of two discreet laminae (Figure 7(f)) both of calcite with up to 10% quartzose dust (Table 1, An. 8 -10) and traces of clays (Al +/− Mg), Mg-salts and bone (P + Ca). The carbonate flowstone is clearly visible as the lumpy-outermost lamina (d) in Figure 2 and also as the white carbonate carapace covering segments of Nail 1 and Nail 2. The flowstone is important, besides providing us with important carbon-isotopic data, it seems to delineate an especially wet climatic period which affected the interior of all Caiaphas tomb ossuaries and the two unprovenanced nails at the same time. The carbonate fringes mantle quartz grains, bone fragments and other morphological elements in ossuaries and nails (Figure 7).

THE NAILS: Morphology and Mineralogy
We refer to the two nails studied as Nail 1 (white carbonate head) and Nail 2 (white carbonate lower body). The nails are 8 cm long with a slightly tapered end, they were purposely bent at an angle of 65˚-on Nail 1 and 75˚-on Nail 2 ( Figure 8) secondary phosphate minerals formed from the decay of bone phosphorus. The external crust of metallic iron of the nails is now entirely converted to micro-laminated orange to reddish-brown to almost black-colored iron hydroxides (Figure 7(d)). Some of the lamina are rich in concentrically zoned spheres (botryoids above) which, if organic in origin (Table 1, An. 30 -32) may suggest that bacterial Fe (II) oxidation by (iron-eating) microorganisms (Casanova et al., 2010) may have played a role in the conversion of metallic iron to iron oxide. We emphasize that amongst the phosphatic floor debris of Ossuaries 6 and Ossuary 1 we found a number of fine chips of iron oxide with FeO concentrations reaching 83.5% (Figure 3(b) and Table 1, An. 12, 16). Fine fragments of iron oxide and separately from flowstone carapace were scrapped off the nail surfaces and studied under the optical transmitted light microscope, SEM and by XRD. During oxidation of the nails, the metallic iron was converted to finely laminated brown to reddish colored iron hydroxides goethite (α goethite) and the uncommon lepidocrocite, a dimorphous form of goethite (γ goethite, Figure 9), both with the chemical composition FeO(OH). Although the amount of lepidocrocite is close to equal on the two nails the goe-   . Column diagram for the main mineral constituents in the tomb Nails 1 and 2 (XRD determinations). Nail 1 was probably derived from Ossuary 1, Nail 2 from Ossuary 6.   Figure 11. Micro-bone fragments in the rubble of Nail 1 (a) and Nail 2 (b). The bones are tiny and may be segments of what was spongy bone tissue in an osteon system (e.g. rod trabeculae, Figure 5(a), Figure 5(c)). Both of what were phosphatic bone fragments are now entirely composed of Fe-hydroxides (Table 1 An. 35, 39).

The Wood: Micromorphologies and Determination of Wood Type
We were amazed to discover, even under low power SEM magnification, ~2 cm long fine slivers of wood accreted to both nails buried within quartzose sedimentary debris. Many of the wood cells are entirely filled with radiating fibers and blades of crystalline iron hydroxides (Figure 13(a)). In addition, we also found in the ferruginous debris and within the wood tracheids (cells), small-yet very pronounced amounts of organic materials all of which we have also identi-  (Figures 12-16). Near concentrations of organic debris we have noted (SEM-EDX) an occasional pronounced increase (0.2% -0.57%) in phosphorus concentration (e.g. Table 1, An. 36, 37), a feature especially noted on Nail 2. We attribute such anomalous phosphorus concentrations to the presence of bone tissue now, as shown above, in major part decayed or replaced by iron oxides (Figure 11, Table 1 An. 35, 39). It is amazing how the organic components of the wood, including all the invasive and/or accreted biological species have, as the wood, been entirely converted to iron hydroxides. A similar phenomenon, a "pseudomorphous" replacement of coffin wood cells by iron corrosion products adjacent to iron bars inside an 8 th century BC tomb at Gordion, Turkey, was observed by Blanchette and Simpson (1992). We consider such complete replacement of the wood organic components by iron hydroxides as a petrification process, in the sense that the mobile iron replacing the organic compounds was controlled by the wood and fungal microarchitecture on an atom by atom basis.
One of us (WHS) identified the wood to be that of a mature Cedrus (Cedar)-a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. In the Mediterra-

Bioinfestation: Microfauna and Microflora
During our study of the Caiaphas tomb ossuaries and the two unprovenanced nails we discovered evidence of widespread microbial infestation accompanied by partial biodeterioration of organic components in both the ossuaries (bones) and also of the wood accreted to the nails (above). Bone and wood provided a choice habitat for microbial attack and both were colonized by what appears to be a single species but it is feasible that in view of the ~1900 year time span, more than a single generation and species of fungi is manifested. The fungal morphologies include (Figures 15-17 (Table 1 An. 24). The bone microfabric may be trabecular spongiosa, a mixture of bone mineral and marrow. (b) Head (underside view) of an insect, possibly a Tube-Tailed Thrips. Although Thrips feed on fungal spores in the present case it seems that the spores had the advantage and colonized the insect's body. The insect is a late visitor as the body has retained all its carbon ( Fungal activity inside ossuaries will result in partial to complete degradation, or chemical breakdown, of bone microstructures and, if present, the wood cell network. In the latter case, decay attacks the primary cell wall components-the carbohydrates, lignin and cellulose, a process accompanied by the release of CO 2 ( Figure 13, Figure 19 and Table 1, An. 33). We have observed two (but not only) principal varieties of spores in our materials (1) a group of small spores ~3 to ~4 μm (0.003 to 0.004 mm) in size and (2) a second group ~8 to ~10 μm in size, with some marked exceptions (e.g. Figure 19(b), Figure 20(a)) noted. We will herewith refer to the former as Ss (small) spores and the later as Sg (germinated) spores, the former (Ss spores) resemble a tightly clustered mass of globules or clusters of grapes, the latter (Sg spores) occur as individuals or small bunches of ~5 -10, frequently pear-shaped bodies. The Ss spores are very much dominant inside the ossuaries where they have colonized the microstructures of bones but also other organic (e.g. insects, Figure 17(b)) morphologies. The Sg spores, although also present inside degraded bone microstructures, are ubiquitous inside the wood tracheids, which was clearly their much preferred habitat. Because of the close spacial relationship and presence of what appear to be transitional stages between the two spore groups (e.g. Figure 19 and Figure   20(a)) we reason that rather than what at first glance appear to be different fungal species they are one species in different stages of development leading to germination. We emphasize that some of the spore-like structures reveal an internal microfabric resembling yeast cells (Figure 16(b)). Spores are unicellular, but under favourable conditions, which involves an exogeneous supply of moisture, water and nutrients will germinate, a process that entails spore swelling and change in shape and finally extrusion of one or more germ-tubes (Figure 18(a),  Figure 19(a)). Microbial degradation is affected by amount of light, water and oxygen availabilty, it will take place as the hyphae spread through food and release enzymes that break food down into substances that the fungi can easily absorb. In Figures 15-20, we have tried to elucidate some of these processes and the range of fungal micromorphologies that we have encountered in the ossuaries and nails (Full explanations in: http://www.fungionline.org.uk/).  (1) a cluster of small (Ss) spores, (2) a germinated Sg spore, it has swollen and is much larger than its predecessors, it is now cone-shaped with an emergent germ tube, (3) a small apical vesicular complex of fine cells (AVC) has broken off from the tube terminus. In (b) the full array of spore sizes is seen within a single tracheid, the spores range from ~2 μm to ~10 μm, they seem to be embedded in what was a soft tracheid resin. One large Sg spore shows an opening on the upper left surface (red marking). In yellow enclosures are spore clusters enveloped in biofilms (discussed below).   Figure  19 (in wood) the full range of Ss, Sg (and bacterial?) spores (sizes < 1 μ to ~8 μ) is exhibited. Some spore bundles, and the bottom right area, are enclosed by a veil-like biofilm, perhaps due to late bacterial attack-or possibly in a symbiotic relationship with the fungus. (b) Bacterial biofilms inside the surface patina of a construction stone, shown for comparison. Some Fe-spheres (white, ~1 μm in diameter) are scattered but also coalesced inside biofilms. The process culminated in crystallization of idiomorphic pyrite dodecahedra (FeS 2 marked) and cubes. We point out that the latter are not unlike the magnetite crystallites in Nail 1 (Figure 14(b)). (Figure 20(b) from Shimron, A. E. 2012, unpublished report).

δ 18 O and δ 13 C Isotopes of Ossuary 6 and Nail 1 Speleothems
Surface rain waters percolate downward through soil and by reacting with CO 2 supplied by biological activity form carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3 ). The acid reacts with the host rock and the water becomes saturated with respect to calcite forming Ca(HCO 3 ) 2 in solution. Should the water reach the open space of caves (or tombs) under certain conditions CO 2 degassing will take place and carbonate minerals will be deposited as speleothems or flowstone (stalactites, stalagmites).
Chemically what takes place is the compound Ca(HCO 3 ) 2 breaks up to CaCO 3 (flowstone) + CO 2 + H 2 O. In their study of some Israeli caves Bar-Matthews & Ayalon (2001 amongst others, have shown that the oxygen isotopic composition (δ 18 O) of speleothems reflects the temperature at the time of their deposition and also the δ 18 O values of the water from which they were deposited. In another study, performed to evaluate the rain shadow effect on the amount of rainfall and speleothem growth, Vaks (et al., 2003) found that variations in the carbon isotopic composition (δ 13 C) of speleothems results from differences in the type of vegetation in the vicinity of the cave. In such a case, enrichment in the δ 13 C (seen in lower negative values) of calcite speleothems usually reflects an increase in the contribution of C4-type plants (crop plants, saltbush, corn, annual summer plants) to the soil CO 2 . We know that the sudden passage from the western to the eastern (rain-shadow) side of the Jerusalem mountain ridge is highlighted by an increase in temperature and evaporation rates, in addition to being accompanied by a sharp drop in rainfall from ~500 to 250 mm (Vaks et al., Figure 1). Notably, these features are also manifested by an increase in δ 18 O and δ 13 C (lower negative) vaues. On the basis of these data, it has been concluded  (Frumkin et al., 1999)  to 2.15‰ variation within a single annual growth band has been measured, consequently, the small difference in the isotopic values of Nail 1 and Ossuary 6 is insignificant and can be attributed to a slight difference in time of speleothem deposition. We conclude that our δ 18 O and δ 13 C values are 1) higher than almost all values for the last ~5000 years obtained for flowstone from Jerusalem area caves and 2) it appears that waters from an area rich in C4-type plants made a higher contribution to the Caiaphas tomb and Nail 1 isotopic values than those from other caves sampled. Such data make the Ossuary 6 and Nail 1 values unique. Figure 21. δ 18 O and δ 13 C isotope values for Ossuary 6 and Nail 1 with isotope values for speleothems from some Jerusalem area caves added for comparison. Jerusalem West data from Frumkin et al. (1999), Soreq and Efrayim caves data from Vaks (et al., 2003) and data for the Soreq cave from Bar-Matthews and Ayalon (2004). With the exception of one value for the Jerusalem West cave and one for the Efrayim cave the isotope values for Ossuary 6 and Nail 1 stand out as (1) being very similar and (2) higher (lower negative) from most other cave values in the Jerusalem area. With this in mind, the Ossuary 6 δ 18 O is slightly heavier than is usual for Jerusalem (although within normal flluctuations) whereas the δ 13 C is a common Holocene value for this area.

Discussion
The Ossuaries: The IAA has not reported two nails found or missing from any excavation other than those from the Caiaphas tomb. Nonetheless, we have ex-  Table 1).
Although Ossuary 6 was found in situ, its cover was removed by Byzantine-period tomb robbers only to be replaced shortly thereafter perhaps out of respect for the recognizable inscribed Caiaphas family name. The ossuary was not moved by robbers from its original site for the same reason and the only disturbance it may have suffered is the removal and immediate disposal of a nail (Nail 2) found by excavators on the kokh floor near the ossuary. In the first excavation report the head excavator (Greenhut, 1992) notes that "one nail was found inside one of the ossuaries" while the other on the floor of Kokh IV (that is near Ossuary 6). In a subsequent report Greenhut (2004) however notes that one nail (Nail 1) was found in Ossuary 1. In the present work, we have assumed that the latter report is accurate and that indeed one of the two nails (Nail 2) was removed from Ossuary 6 during the robbers' incursion into the tomb whereas the second nail (Nail 1) spent its entire ~1900 year long history undisturbed inside Ossuary 1. We have summarized our main observations and elucidate the main links between the Cft ossuaries and the two nails in Table 3 below.   (Ross & Wang, 1982;Schwertmann & Taylor, 1972), but it has also been identified in association with biotic reactions that form iron-oxides (Schieber & Glamoclijia, 2007). Its growth is in- and 7 and the presence of elements like phosphorus (Cumplido et al., 2000).
Hydromorphic soils have a notably low pH of ~4.5 -5, they are typical of marshes and bogs, a situation not unlike that prevailing in standing pools of water inside a tomb, or an ossuary with degrading and decaying bones infested by a fungal colony. The rubble in Ossuary 6 contains 0.8% and in Ossuary 1 and Ossuary 7 0.2% sulphur with locally up to 3% present. Such acidifying material lowers the pH of the waters which must already have been de-oxygenated by microorganisms feeding on organic material. In this manner, conditions were generated, in the tomb and ossuaries in which iron-oxidizing organism (which prefer to colonize in the transition zone between the anaerobic and aerobic environments) thrive.
Although the two nails contain close to the same amount of lepidocrocite (~20% and 24%, Figure 9) the amount of goethite in Nail 2 is close to double that in Nail 1. This fact indicates that at some point in their history the geochemical setting of the nails must have changed in a manner that promoted the crystallization of goethite rather then lepidocrocite on Nail 2. Such a change in the geochemical mileu would have taken place when Nail 2 was removed from its Ossuary 6 habitat and dumped on the tomb floor by robbers during the Byzantine (4 th -6 th century CE) period. Conditions of light, temperature, pH and amount of water must all have changed for Nail 2 at this time. Any major influx of fresh water into the tomb would have resulted in improved oxygenation and a rise in the pH of tomb moisture. It is precisely this kind of change that is now manifested by the considerable dominance of goethite over lepidocrocite on Nail 2, an indication that their evolutionary paths must have diverged at about this time. Casanova (et al., 2010) showed that at pH 7 both lepidocrocite and goethite may form by Fe (II)-oxidizing bacteria whereas at pH lower than 6 lepidocrocite will be the favored iron oxide (a chemical condition also favouring yeast fungi).
In such a case goethite, which is more abundant on Nail 2, crystallized in moisture with a pH near neutral or alkaline (pH 7 or higher). Such a change would have taken place had Nail 2 been removed from what must have been its initial hydromorphic-hypoxic environment (e.g. Schwertmann & Taylor, 1972) inside Ossuary 6 and transferred to a better oxygenated chemical environment on the tomb floor. Such an explanation is consistent with the archaeological findings and mineralogy of the nails. Evidence of a late change in the microbial setting of the nails is indicated by the presence of a small amount of the anhydrous iron oxide magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 , Figure 10(b)). Identified by SEM and XRD on Nail 1 these amazing ~5 μm size idiomorphic crystallites occur in clusters covering what is late-crystallized flowstone carbonate (e.g. Figure 6, Figure 10(b), Figure   20(b)). The presence of such magnetite implies crystallization under hypoxic or anaerobic conditions during which the Fe-hydroxides can be further oxidized by organisms to form crystalline magnetite (Kirschvink et al., 1992;Lowenstam, 1981) which, it appears, became the thermodynamically more stable phase. The Some spore-forming bacteria can form highly organized multicellular communities referred to as biofilms (also called slime). Biofilms are one of the more extraordinary morphologies we discovered in the rubble of Ossuary 7 and also Nail 1. They are an important form of microbial growth occurring as complex cell populations primarily constructed of yeast-form and hyphal cells (e.g. Figure 16(b)). Their formation is a sequential process which involves attachment to a subsurface, proliferation of the yeast cells over the surface and finally extrusion of hyphae (Fanning & Mitchell, 2012). We reason that the biofilms that invaded Based on our collective data above involving the full range of fungal infestation phenomena we reason that the fungal species that colonized the Cft are of the Yeast Kingdom of which at least 1500 species have been recognized. Similar to our unusual range of spore sizes and unlike in most fungal species, yeast spore sizes are known to vary greatly even within a single species, with the 3 -4 μm diameter (our Ss spores?) most common (e.g. Lema et al., 2012). Many yeast species (e.g. Saccharomyces cerevisiae) convert carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohol during the fermentation process and the products of this process have been used in baking and production of alcohol for thousands of years, the fungi in the Caiaphas tomb may be testimony to just that. Although our fungi lack the "budding" morphology of Saccharomyces, we reason they may be a close variant of this species. A potential source of yeast fungi in the Caiaphas tomb could have been the family of the high priest Caiaphas (1 st century CE) in early 20 th century Palestine. This imposing and still existing structure on the Hill of Evil Council was constructed next to the ancient aqueduct (Figure 1), almost certainly an important source of water to Government House. We suggest that the yeast fungus may have been widely used not only in the Caiaphas family household but also ~1900 years later in the British Government House kitchens for the production of baked goods and alcohol. If so, the aqueduct whose ~60 km route from near Bethlehem to Jerusalem's Temple Mount may have been an important source of not only water for the Temple but also the carrier of what appears to be a very special fungal species into the tomb of the Caiaphas family. We had communicated with a number of scientists in the field of fungal biology regarding the complex fungal species here discussed and would like to quote from a recent mail exchange with R. Blanchette, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota. We quote "You have put together some very interesting information. These observations are very different from the type of decay and fungi that we have found in various tombs and dry environments. It is amazing you are able to get this information from just a few minute segments of wood and bone adhering to the nails".

Conclusion
In spite of the little material available to us for study, we have been able to determine that the long chain of sedimentary, geochemical and microbial events which affected the interior of the Caiaphas tomb ossuaries and the two nails were identical through a major part of their ~1900 year history (Table 3). The various components of fungi although much phosphatized, or petrified by iron oxides, have retained their original morphologies and are thus recognizable amongst the degraded bone debris but also on the wood fragments accreted to the nails. We cannot comment on the possible significance, if any, of the wood accreted on the nails being cedar (Cedrus Libani). Cedar did not grow in Early Iron age Palestine where it was a rare and expensive import which, according to the Old Testament, was used in contruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (circa 970 to 931 BCE). Since cedar rejects wood rot some of its timber was also used in the construction of what is referred to as the "Jesus Boat". Although this, now excavated, small fishing vessel sank in the Sea of Galilee in the 1 st century CE no implications have been made that it had any historical connection with Jesus of Nazareth. Reuven (2013) attempted to show that some wooden beams of cedar may have been used in construction on the Herodian period (1 st century CE) Temple Mount in Jerusalem-the period of Caiaphas' rule.
Due to the lack of any evidence to support the hypothesis, we contest the proposal that the nails found in the Caiaphas tomb (Greenhut, 2004;Rahmani, 1961) were used for carving the decorative motives or were used for inscribing the names on the ossuaries. Besides the problematic morphology of the nails we also take into consideration that inside one of the skulls in the tomb a coin was found, this may perhaps be attributed to a known pagan practice whereby the coin was meant as a payment to Charon-the ferryman of the Underworld. Thus far only one other nail has ever been found inside an ossuary (the Yehohanan Heel Bone nail, Figure 8 above, Tsaferis, 1985) and that nail has been the only recorded archaeological artifact specifically identified with crucifixion. The presence in a burial context of what appear to be two crucifixion nails in the tomb of Caiaphas may, as the coin above, be more than a simple curiosity, rather they may be related to the fact that both Jewish and other sources identify nails used in a crucifixion as amulets possessing magical properties (ref. above). It follows that the presence of two nails with slivers of accreted cedar wood containing trace remains of bone tissue, present in two different ossuaries in the tomb of Caiaphas, suggests that, although neglected, these rare artifacts were an important issue in the family of the high priest. In consequence of the full range of observations above we feel confident in concluding that 1) the nails that we sampled are the missing nails from the Caiaphas family tomb and 2) these nails were, very probably, used in a crucifixion.