Earliest reference to Jesus of Nazareth?Biblical Archaeological Review, the journal that brought us the first glimpse of the Dead Sea Scrolls, has outdone itself this time with news of the earliest historical reference to the historical Jesus. "After nearly 2,000 years, historical evidence for the existence of Jesus has come to light literally written in stone. An inscription has been found on an ancient bone box, called an ossuary, that reads 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.' This container provides the only New Testament-era mention of the central figure of Christianity and is the first-ever archaeological discovery to corroborate Biblical references to Jesus."
The burial box of James, the brother of Jesus, from Biblical Archaeological Review