A press conference will be called by Discovery Channel in New York City. “At that time, what are thought to be the ossuaries of Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene will be unveiled.”

In attendance will be Jane Root, president of Discovery Channel; James Cameron and Professor James Tabor, chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr Shimon Gibson, archaeologist with the Albright Institute, Prof Andrey Feuerverger, professor of statistics at the University of Toronto, and Dr Charles Pellegrino, co-author of The Jesus Family Tomb.

The Lost Tomb Of Jesus, which premieres on Sunday on Discovery Channel, follows an investigative journey into the identities of and relationships among 10 ossuaries, which originally were discovered more than 25 years ago but were never connected conclusively. In conjunction with the film, HarperSanFrancisco is publishing a companion book, The Jesus Family Tomb, co-authored by Jacobovici and Dr Charles Pellegrino, with a foreword by Cameron. The Talpiot tomb originally held 10 ossuaries, nine of which are still within the Israel Antiquity Authority’s domain.

Six limestone bone boxes that served as First Century Jerusalem-area coffins include inscriptions of names found in the New Testament — “Jesus son of Joseph,” “Maria,” “Mariamene e Mara,” “Matthew,” “Yose” and “Judah son of Jesus.”

“This has been a three-year journey that seems more incredible than fiction,” says Jacobovici. “The idea of possibly finding the tomb of Jesus and several members of his family, with compelling scientific evidence, is beyond anything I could have imagined.”

“It doesn’t get bigger than this,” says Cameron. “We’ve done our homework and now it’s time for the debate to begin.” Jacobovici and his team use robotic cameras to locate the tomb, which was believed to have been destroyed but is in the centre of a modern-day apartment complex. After entering the tomb, the filmmakers follow local regulations and seal the tomb with the hopes that they will return to conduct further analysis.

The film is produced for Discovery Channel worldwide by Associated Producers, with VisionTV Canada and Channel 4, UK.