| The Nails of Inchtuthil |
| Nothing, in my mind, quite compairs to pondering the sacrificae and love that led the Christ of Creation to the Cross of Calvary. This single event is the mystery of Salvation. Many of us have seen the representations of the nail that bled our Lord on the Cross. Most of these symbolic replicas have little if anything to do with fact. Most fall far short of the true Roman Nail that was so cruelly employeed in the death of Jesus Christ. Does Archaeology have any light to shed on the true nature of the Nails that would have been used in this terrible system of capital punishment? |
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| Story of the Inchtuthil Nail |
| The year is 1901. Archaeologists are excavating a fortress abandoned by the Romans around 87 AD. Nearby lay a discovery that would remain hidden until Oxford Archaeologist and Professor Sir Ian Richardson was destined to uncover a remarkible find. What Professor Richardson was to uncover in the mid 1960's was around 70 tons of Roman Nails dating from the same century as the crucifixation of Jesus Christ. The prior history of this find is linked to General Julius Agricola, commander of the 20th Legion of the Roman Army. General Agricola had set out to defeat the Calenonians in the name of the Roman Empire during the first century AD. During this campaign, Agricola built the Legionary Fortress of Inchtuthil. This formidable fortress, one of the northern most forts of the Empire, would last as his base of operations from around 83 - 87 AD. The fortress had stone walls, but the buildings were temporary and thus were constructed of timber. This timber was constructed with nails produced by the Roman Empire in East Sussex, in the forest of Beauport Park. The Romans were quite skilled in forging the nails by smelting the iron ore and forming the nails by hand, producing a product with four tapered square sides and a flat top. The significant thing here is that during the entire period of the Roman Empire the technology and techniques employeed in the manufacture of the Roman nail remained unchanged from before the birth of Christ until the fall of the Empire. When the defeat of the Caledonians seemed imminant, Emperor Domitian ordered the fortress of Inchtuthil to be disassembled and shipped to Germany. At the last minute problems were encountered with transportation and the nails were buried on the site of the fortress. These nails were burried 6 feet deep in order that the Caledonians could not find them and fashion the iron into swords. Upon their discovery in the mid-60's, they were initially sent to National Museum of Scotland. Later they were shipped to museums throughout the world. |
| In this case, we have nails used in the construction of a fortress, by a particular man, Julius Agricola, at a certain time period in history, 83-87 AD. A short period of time prior to this event in history, identical nails, manufactured most likely in the exact location of the Inchtuthil Nail, were used in a quite different manner. They were driven into the flesh of the Savior of the World, the Creater God of the Universe. I am proud to own three of these specimens (quite similar to the ones above)! These nails are not replicas, they are real Roman Nails exactly like those used in the Crucifixion; these nails are two thousand years old. |
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