James Cameron Christ Documentary Under Attack

[Brian Damage]

HOLLYWOOD - Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron's latest screen project has come under attack from archaeologists and clergymen in the Holy Land, who insist his so-called "evidence" that Jesus was not resurrected from the dead is unfounded.

The Titanic director has produced new documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus in which it is alleged Jesus was buried instead of walking out of his tomb. He bases his hypothesis on three coffins he claims are those of Jesus, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene, which were found in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood.

However, Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, insists, "They (producers) just want to get money for it.

"It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave. The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time."

Attallah Hana, a Greek Orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem, adds, "(The documentary) contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to."

The Lost Tomb of Christ airs on the Discovery Channel next month.