Most Christians grew up with a familiar story about the birth of Jesus.

Joseph and Mary traveled hurriedly from Nazareth to Bethlehem when Mary was on the verge of giving birth. There was no room at the local hotel ("inn"), and so they found shelter in some stable in a nearby field. There, cold and alone, the couple greeted Jesus on his entry into the world and Mary placed him in a wooden manger of straw used to feed the stable animals.

This narrative is now a long-revered tale that is ubiquitous in literature and film, but is it accurate?

It must be first conceded that the story represents a breathtakingly complex extrapolation from the statements of Scripture. From Scripture what we do know is...

1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod (Matthew 2:1)

2. Joseph and Mary went out of Nazareth to Bethlehem (Luke 2:4)

3. While they were there, Mary gave birth to a son. (Luke 2:6)

4. Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling and placed him in a manger because there was no room in the "inn." (Luke 2:7)

These few biblical facts have become clothed in all the "details" we know from modern depictions of the events. However, based upon historical and archeological facts, together with statements from Scripture, we are able to produce a much more likely version of events.

Travel between Galilean towns and Jerusalem was common in antiquity, with many people making the journey on foot three times annually for major festivals. When Mary and Joseph went there, they would almost certainly have stayed with a relative of Joseph, the latter having roots in the town, (and perhaps still owning property there). Guests in the home of 1st century people were routinely housed in the "kataluma," sometimes translated as "inn," but elsehwere used in the Bible to mean "upper room," or "guest room," (for example where Jesus had his last Supper with the Apostles). As there would have been many relatives in the home who had returned there for the census, there would have been inadequate space in the upper room for all. Some, (including Mary and Joseph), could have been consigned to the lower portion of the house.

1st century Judean homes usually had a lower floor used for human activities, but also shared with prized animals when weather was inclement. Hence, it was common for there to be items on this level that were needed for the care of livestock. Key among these would be a "manger," or watering trough. In 1st century Israel these were not made of wood, but rather carved from white limestone, which was found everywhere in the region.

Quite a few limestone animal troughs have been found by archaeologists excavating in Israel. The stone manger shown here is typical of the average design and dimensions. They were usually block-like in shape, standing between twelve and thirty inches high. The shallow basin in the top of the trough was only about six to eight inches deep, generally carved as a neat rectangular depression with a flat or slightly concave bottom. The manger in which Jesus was laid, and which served as a sign for the shepherds to find him, was almost surely such a trough for water. This is because in ancient Israel there was no need for a feed box filled with hay. Domestic animals were able to feed on the plentiful grass that grew in the rocky hills of Judea. Grass was available all year long.

There is also early Christian tradition that Jesus was born in a cave. Justin Martyr in AD 150 asserted this and this was reasserted by Origen in AD 254. While we cannot know if this is historically accurate, it is not inconsistent with the archeological record, as many Judean homes were built against rock faces containing caves, and these were used as extensions of the first floor.