<p>Discovered in a cave deep in Jordan, the Lead Codices have courted controversy<br>across the world. Are these books the lost library of the early Christians? Do they<br>contain the first icon of Jesus? What do they mean for our understanding of the<br>founding of the Christian Church?<br><br>In March 2011, The Sunday Times (of London) ran an article on the discovery of a mysterious cache of palm-sized, ring-bound books made of engraved lead plates that appeared to have a connection with the Kabbalah. <br><br><br>Several "experts" stepped forward to claim the lead codices to be forgeries. From<br>almost the beginning, Egyptologist David Elkington and his wife Jennifer, were<br>brought in as religious experts to help the book's owner better understand their<br>message. <br><br><br>At the same time, the books were quickly becoming an international hot potato as<br>the Israelis and Jordanians began a very public dispute over the location of the site<br>where they were discovered. <br><br><br>Convinced that the codices were not fakes, but in all likelihood the earliest<br>Christian documents ever found, the Elkingtons put their reputations on the line as<br>they raced to authenticate the find amidst an array of vested interests which sought<br>to suppress them. <br><br><br>Thought to be the earliest christian writings ever discovered the Lead Codices can<br>be dated to 30-40 AD--prior to the New Testament and after the Death of Jesus.</p>