Maria pointed to the document. ‘You mean our scroll? You came here looking for this and didn’t bother to tell me? Santa Maria! I don’t believe this! What’s so special about it?’
‘Instead of telling you, let me show you.’ He removed a single sheet of paper from his fanny pack. ‘This is a photocopy of the Bath document. Notice how the script matches the handwriting on the Orvieto scroll.’ He pointed to the similarities in flow and spacing. ‘The first scroll was written by Tiberievm, better known as Tiberius Caesar. Penned by his own hand in 32 AD.’
Maria’s eyes widened. She’d been reading about the second emperor of Rome only a few hours before. ‘Tiberius? Are you positive?’
‘As sure as a historian can be. Not only was the document signed and dated, but I ran the papyrus and ink through a number of tests. The results came back remarkably clear: the Bath document is approximately two thousand years old.’
‘But couldn’t it have been written by someone else, a scribe or an assistant of some kind? How do you know it was Tiberius?’
‘Good question,’ he admitted. ‘But I do have an answer. Take a look at the canister we found in Orvieto. Remember the engraving I showed you? I chose not to tell you at the time, but that’s a very specific symbol assigned to Tiberius by order of the Roman senate.’
‘For what purpose?’
‘In his later years, Tiberius became something of a recluse, opting to live on the Isle of Capri, which was a terrible inconvenience for the senate. All decisions had to be delivered over land and sea, and that was a risky proposition. Therefore, the senate devised a way to seal their documents in metal, then added an extra safeguard by assigning a specific symbol to Tiberius. When it appeared on a chambered document, such as the one we found, it meant the information was written by Tiberius’s own hand and too critical to be read by a messenger.’
Maria considered the information and accepted it. Two scrolls written by Tiberius, found over a thousand miles apart. Unfortunately, that still didn’t explain Boyd’s outburst and failed to clarify the connection to Christ. ‘Professore, not to be rude, but what did the document say?’
‘The Bath scroll was addressed to Paccius, the top general in Tiberius’s army. You see, the general and his troops had been sent to the Britains to survey the land explored by Julius Caesar several decades before. It was a critical mission, one that would spark further expansion of the Empire. Alas, while Paccius was there, something happened back in Rome, for Tiberius sent a fleet of his fastest ships to locate him and request his immediate return.’
‘What had happened?’
‘The document didn’t say, simply hinting at “a swelling among the slave ranks of Galilee that needs to be profited from.”’ Boyd paused, letting that information sink in. ‘But if you think about it, history gives us a pretty solid clue as to what was taking place. What significant event occurred in that territory less than a year later?’
The color faded in Maria’s tanned face. ‘The crucifixion of Christ.’
‘Exactly! Now maybe you’re beginning to understand the importance of this.’
She nodded, trying to retain her focus. ‘What else did it say?’
‘Tiberius said if he died before Paccius’s return, then Paccius should complete the plot by using the records that would be stored in the newly built haven at Orvieto. He said the plans would be “locked in bronze and sealed with the Emperor’s kiss.” Obviously a reference to the engraved canister that we found.’
‘But since the scroll was still sealed, we can assume that Paccius returned before Tiberius’s death, right? They had a chance to talk in person?’
Boyd shrugged. ‘That’s an assumption at best. You must remember that both canisters were found sealed. Not only the one in Orvieto but the one in Bath as well.’
‘So what are you saying? Paccius never got the message?’
‘That’s one possibility. Another is a duplicate set of messages. I figure, why dispatch a single canister when you’re sending an entire fleet to locate someone? What if the message ship sank? The scroll would’ve been lost forever. So for safety’s sake, why not send two scrolls or more?’
Maria nodded her acceptance. It seemed like a reasonable theory. ‘What does history say about Paccius? What happened to him?’
‘For some reason, his death was never chronicled. One minute he was the second most powerful cog in the Roman Empire, the next minute he was gone. Vanished, without a trace. Of course, his disappearance could mean many things. He might’ve died in the Britains or drowned at sea on his journey home. Or he might’ve sailed directly to Judea in order to carry out the emperor’s wishes.’ Boyd shook his head in confusion. ‘Whichever it is, I do know this: Tiberius was a tactical genius, known for his brilliant mind and precise planning. And according to this scroll, he figured out a way to use Christ as a pawn in the most ruthless plot of all time.’