The so-called James Ossuary.
Matthew Kalman at the Chronicle of Higher Education has the scoop on the verdict in the trial of Oded Golan, accused of forging the inscription on the James Ossuary:
In a case that has roiled scholars around the world in a broad range of disciplines, the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday acquitted an Israeli antiquities collector, Oded Golan, of forging dozens of priceless archaeological artifacts, including an inscription on the burial box, or ossuary, of James, brother of Jesus.
Give it a read.
HT: Jim West – The Chronicle of Higher Education: On the Verdict.
Filed under: archaeology, crime, justice and legal Tagged: | chronicle of higher education, forgery, james ossuary, matthew lakman, not guilty, oded golan, trial
Unfortunately, most lay people will have a lot of problems differentiating between “not proven to be forged” and “proven to be authentic”. And you bet your bottom shekel that the perps will take full advantage of this.
Correct me if I am wrong but did not Yuval Goren admit under oath in his second round of testimony that original patina was found in the letters making up the name Yeshua–which were the crux of the forgery case? I will drop him a note and find out the story on that but it was widely reported and appears in the record of the trial testimony if I am not mistaken.
I liked what Joel Kronfeld said in the article: “I myself am convinced that there is no evidence of forgery. If it was forged, maybe it was forged 2,000 years ago,” said Joel Kronfeld, emeritus professor in the department of geophysics and planetary sciences at Tel Aviv University, who appeared for the defense. “There are just no compelling results that show us there is any forgery.”
Probably the smartest thing anyone has said on the subject.