First century, Nazareth was a tiny village in the Lower Galilean hills with an estimated population of only 200 to 400 people. It is left out of the Old Testament, the Jewish Talmud, and the writings of the historian Josephus. To the ancient world, it was an insignificant farming village. For decades, skeptics argued that Nazareth didn't even exist during the time of Jesus. That changed with excavations beneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent. Archaeologists uncovered a remarkably preserved, first-century dwelling cut directly into a limestone hillside. The home has rock-cut walls, a series of rooms, a courtyard, and a preserved rock-cut tomb. This structure proves not only that the village thrived in the first century, but it offers a blueprint of the exact type of home Jesus grew up in. Inside these ancient Nazareth homes, archaeologists found numerous fragments of vessels made of limestone (chalk). According to first-century Jewish ritual law (Leviticus 11), traditional clay pottery could absorb spiritual uncleanness and had to be smashed if contaminated. However, stone and chalk vessels were completely immune to becoming ritually impure. Finding these stone mugs and bowls across Nazareth proves that this tiny village was populated by observant Jewish families practicing Torah purity laws.