The burial box that was touted as holding the remains of the brother of Jesus
may not be as historical a find as once thought.
The inscription on an ancient stone burial box that refers to Jesus is a fake,
Israeli archaeological experts say.
The burial box that was touted as holding the remains of the brother of Jesus
may not be as historical a find as once thought.
The inscription on an ancient stone burial box that refers to Jesus is a fake,
Israeli archaeological experts say.
The Aramaic inscription on the limestone box – called an ossuary – was deemed
genuine last fall, when specialists announced the artifact could provide a link
between the Jesus of the Bible and a historical figure named Jesus. If authenticated,
the ossuary would have been one of the oldest archaeological references to biblical
figures.
The inscription reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Originally,
it was thought to date to about 63 A.D. However, Israeli Antiquities Authority
experts now say it actually was carved over the stone’s natural fossilized sheen,
or patina.
Last October, other scholars argued the Aramaic script used on the box matches
the style that was popular in the first decades of the first century after the
birth of Jesus.
Tests also dated the burial box to 63 A.D. – a year after James’ death and
within the half-century that such boxes were used.
Archaeological specialists in Israel agree the artifact is real – but they
now insist the inscription is a forgery.
“The ossuary is real, but the inscription is fake,” said Shuka Dorfman, the
director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority. “What this means is that someone
took the real box and forged the writing on it, probably to give it a religious
significance.”
However, other experts say that finding may be a bit premature.
“The problem is, the report is not out yet,” said Hershel Shanks of the Biblical
Archaeological Review in Washington, adding that there may be disagreement among
the scientists. “There may be some archaeological politics involved.”
Specialists from the Geological Survey of Israel and the Royal Ontario Museum
in Toronto studied the stone box earlier and determined it was genuine, Shanks
noted. Moreover, the patina over the inscription could have been worn down because
it was scrubbed heavily, he said.
The artifact’s owner, Oded Golan, said he bought the ossuary in the mid-1970s
from an antiquities dealer in Old Jerusalem. However, its existence was not
known for years.
A biblical scholar who wrote a book on James questioned the artifact’s authenticity
from the time it emerged. The script on the box appeared to have been written
in two hands, Robert Eisenman said.
“I always considered the timing of the Jesus ossuary very odd and worrisome,”
he explained. “There was a spate of books on James and his importance in 1997
and 1998, and then the box appeared.”
Historians say James was stoned to death in 62 A.D. Protestants and Jews accept
James as Jesus’ brother, but Catholics say he was a cousin, insisting Mary spent
her life as a virgin. Many Orthodox Christians regard James as Jesus’ half-brother
from a previous marriage of Joseph’s.
The strong possibility that the ossuary’s inscription may be a modern forgery
leaves many braced for disappointment.
“If it turns out to be a fake, whoever did it should be put in jail,” Shanks
said. (RNS)