Though raised as a Christian, I have often wondered at the lack of precise historical details regarding the life of Christ. For instance remarkably little information is given regarding Christ's formative years. We know from the Gospels that after the birth his parents fled with him to Egypt. The long held reason for this is that Herod (the Great) was coming to the end of his reign. Then hearing of the imminent birth of the Messiah, which had been prophesied, out of jealously had ordered the slaughter of all new born babies. Now though Herod was a particularly unsavoury character with the death of - even - several family members on his hands, it seems that this story is unlikely. However we do know that when Joseph and Mary returned from Egypt with the baby Jesus that they settled in a small village of Galilee i.e. Nazareth. What is now fascinating is that extensive archaeological work has revealed that 4 miles or so from Nazareth was the capital town of Galilee commonly ref