JERUSALEM: Two nails used in Jesus's crucifixion have been discovered in a 2000-year-old tomb, a documentary maker has claimed, sparking intense debate among historians.

The rusted, bent iron nails were found more than 20 years ago in a tomb outside Jerusalem that contained a number of ossuaries, or boxes containing bones.

Two boxes were inscribed with the name Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest who presided over Christ's crucifixion, the New Testament says.

Simcha Jacobovici, who has made a documentary about the find for the History Channel, contends that the nails were used to hammer Christ to the Cross. He believes the high priest may have wanted them buried alongside his body for their talismanic powers and as divine protection in the afterlife.