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JAMES OSSUARY

(Proposed edits)

The James Ossuary is a 2,000-year old limestone box used for containing the bones of the dead. The Aramaic inscription on the artifact read: Ya'akov bar-Yosef akhui diYeshua, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."

It is significant because this archaeological evidence establishes that there was a historical person named Jesus whose father was Joseph and brother was James as written in the Bible and in the works of the Jewish historian Josephus.

The authenticity of this artifact was contested, and now the courts have made a ruling.

Scholarly Analysis
An ossuary is a limestone box for storing bones. It was used by Jews primarily in the First Century as a space-saving way to deal with the dead. This "second-burial" system first interred the deceased in sepulchers to decompose for a couple of years. Then the bones that remained were gathered and were put into stone boxes or "ossuaries."

The James ossuary came from the Silwan area in the Kidron Valley, southeast of the Temple Mount. The first-century origin of the ossuary is not in question. However, there has been much scholarly debate regarding the inscription. (See The Lost Tomb of Jesus)

It is true that the first part of the inscription, "James son of Joseph," seems more deeply incised than the "brother of Jesus," but this may have no significance. For example, differences in the hardness of the limestone may have been responsible, or the carver may have been pressed for time.

The Cursive Aramaic script, is fully consistent with first-century lettering, according to Dr. Andre Lemaire, Parisian epigrapher. Furthermore, the inscription was not incised with modern tools, as it contains only elements available in the ancient world.

Trial of Oded Golan


Limor Livnat, Israeli Minister of Culture, had mandated the work of a scientific commission to study the artifact. The James Ossuary was found to be authentic but the commission claimed the inscription was a forgery.

However, Dr.Edward Keall, Senior Curator at the Royal Ontario Museum, maintained the inscription was authentic, saying “no definitive proof of forgery has yet been presented". The Biblical Archaeology Review also defended authenticity pointing to the findings of several notable paleographic experts.

As the dispute over authenticity continued, Oded Golan claimed publicly that his find was genuine. Hershel Shanks declared that he did not believe the evidence of forgery launching a personal complaint against IAA director Shuka Dorfman.

In December of 2004, the Israeli Justice Ministry charged Golan, with forgery. Golan was indicted in an Israeli court along with three alleged co-conspirators.

Central to the issue of authenticity was the patina. The patina is a thin layer of grime that attests to the age of the inscription. The prosecutor brought chalk, a beaker, a camp stove, and other ingredients to prove that the patina was faked. However the defense then used the same technique to show that fake patina doesn't stick to stone, undermining the position of the IAA.

Oded Golan, produced photographs taken in his house from 1976. These photographs, showed the ossuary on a shelf, with an enlargement detailing the whole inscription. These photographs undermined the prosecution's theory that the ossuary was a recent forgery by Golan intended to be sold for profit.

After ten years of intense scholarly debate, 12,000 pages of documents, and more than 100 hearings, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the James Ossuary was authentic and the prosecution had failed to prove that the inscription was a forgery. The verdict was welcomed by those who believe that "the ossuary will finally provide a physical connection to the historical Jesus." However, the Court noted that the ruling does not mean that those who oppose authenticity are wrong. It merely means that there is a lack of reliable evidence to support their position. The scholarly debate will continue.