[CPProt.net] Archeology magazine raises questions as Israel awaits big artifacts fraud trial

[MSN and CPProt list (Ton Cremers)]

March 6, 2005 

Archeology magazine raises questions as Israel awaits big artifacts fraud
trial

By RICHARD N. OSTLING

(AP) - Soon, Israel will be conducting archeology's trial of the century,
which involves precious artifacts linked with the Bible that supposedly are
thousands of years old. 

Nonsense, say prosecutors, who charge that the items, valued in untold
millions of dollars, are fakes. 

They have accused five men of operating a sophisticated, long-running
forgery ring: the owner of one of Israel's largest antiquities collections;
three Israeli antiquities dealers, including the former chief conservator of
the Israel Museum; and a West Bank Palestinian involved in one transaction. 

However, the current issue of America's Biblical Archeology Review magazine
says that what has been made public so far leaves serious questions about
the science that underlies the case against one of the items. 

On that artifact, the magazine has much at stake. In 2002 it proclaimed the
discovery of a burial box inscribed "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus"
and quoted scholars who said this was almost certainly the only inscription
of Jesus Christ's name to survive from his own time. 

But doubters immediately challenged that claim and Israeli prosecutors have
now joined them. The box itself is truly ancient, they contend, but the full
inscription, or at least "brother of Jesus," was added later. 

This dispute largely pits paleographers, who study letter shapes and styles
to date and authenticate ancient inscriptions, against chemists and
geologists who have examined the artifacts. 

The magazine says that among leading paleographers who study this era, none
has questioned the inscription, while the main doubter lacks a university
appointment. It also cites conflicting testimony about claims that people
have seen the box without the Jesus inscription. 

Scientists' opinions are divided and technical questions haven't been
answered satisfactorily, the magazine continues. One study that critics use,
for example, says the lack of telltale ancient patina (surface film) in the
inscription could have resulted simply from modern-day cleaning. 

Last year, the Journal of Archaeological Science published an article by
Yuval Goren, chairman of the archeology department at Tel Aviv University,
and two scientists with the Geological Survey of Israel. They argued against
the authenticity of the box, disputing two other Geological Survey
scientists who had endorsed it. 

James Harrell, a professor of "archeological geology" at the University of
Toledo, Ohio, wrote a technical response accusing the three attackers of
making "serious errors in their basic chemistry." But the scientific journal
wouldn't print Harrell's response, so he posted it on the Internet for all
to see. 

Other important artifacts are involved in the scandal. 

One significant item is an ivory pomegranate inscribed "Holy to the priests,
Temple of (Yahwe)h." The letters in parentheses are a supposition because
the inscription is damaged. Since 1988 the Israel Museum has displayed this
as the only relic ever discovered from King Solomon's Temple. 

Just before the indictments, the museum announced that experts had decided
this was a modern-day hoax. But no report has been issued explaining who
decided this and on what basis. 

Now Biblical Archeology Review has offered to buy the pomegranate for
$550,000 US, the price the museum originally paid the anonymous owner
through a go-between. 

Other artifacts listed in the indictment include a widely doubted
inscription concerning repairs on Solomon's Temple; a record of a donation
to the ancient Temple; various bullae (clay seals for documents), one of
which names the prophet Jeremiah's scribe Baruch; a stone oil lamp; a wine
decanter possibly used in the Temple; a bowl inscribed with the name of
Pharaoh Shishak, who invaded biblical Israel; a now-missing gold seal that
supposedly belonged to Judah's King Manasseh, and other items as yet
unidentified. 

The magazine says in all instances "the indictment disclosed almost nothing
about the making of the alleged forgeries." 

That only adds to the mystery - and the anticipation surrounding the
forthcoming trial. 


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