James ossuary verdict: ossuary genuine, inscription fake - Brief Article

The James ossuary, touted as the mortuary box of Jesus' brother, is a fake, along with another recently "discovered" artifact owned by the same Jerusalem dealer, the Israeli Antiquities Authority concluded. The dealer, Oded Golan, was arrested by police at his Tel Aviv home, where forgery equipment was discovered.

The ossuary--a limestone box used to hold skeletal remains--bears an Aramaic inscription, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." Biblical Archeology Review and other sources, including a book by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, The Brother of James (2003), promoted the box and its inscription as authentic. Skeptics cautioned that the provenance was unknown, and several scholars suggested that the phrase "brother of Jesus" might have been a late addition.

A special report in SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, "Bone (Box) of Contention" (Joe Nickell, March/April 2003), presented evidence that an antique ossuary had been recently carved with a false inscription and a fake patina (coating of age) possibly added.

That scenario was proved accurate by a committee of experts assembled by the Israeli Antiquities Authority and utilizing a panoply of sophisticated analytical techniques. The patina on the letters was discovered to be false, consisting of powdered chalk suspended in water and applied to the inscription. At Oded Golan's home, reported CNN.com, police discovered forgery items "including stencils, stones, and partially completed forgeries."

Joe Nickell is CSICOP's Senior Research Fellow and author of Detecting Forgery.

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