Quote: I don't like when they say this could be the house of so and so, when really there only reason for thinking this, is that it may be in about the right place at the right time.
Sadly that it is a carry over from the early days of archaeology in the ANE when preachers disguised as archaeologists went out with a bible in one hand and a shovel in the other to dig up "proof" of the bible. They invariably found what they were looking for because of confirmation bias.
There is a slightly more modern take on this, though. Marketing. It seems that every December there is some "discovery" in Israel to make xtians feel all happy about their bullshit. The "Jesus house" at Nazareth comes to mind instantly. I read the press release from the IAA on that one and it correctly stated that a home had been found with a few pottery shards associated from the first and second centuries. Obviously there is a two hundred year span there. But even though the scholars at the IAA said nothing out of line that did not stop the headline writers from proclaiming it "the Jesus House." You see, if there is one thing that Jews and Palestinians agree on it is the total desirability of separating idiot xtian pilgrims from their money.
