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Dicaearchus
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/19/22

For the pirate, see Dicaearchus of Aetolia.

A series of different ancient sources report that Plato was a poet in his youth, before turning to philosophy. The oldest of these seems to be Dicaearcus, quoted by Diogenes Laertius.

-- Defining a 'Pseudo-Plato' Epigrammatist, by Davide Massimo

Dicaearchus of Messana (/ˌdɪkeɪˈɑːrkəs ... məˈsɑːnə/; Greek: Δικαίαρχος Dikaiarkhos; c. 370/350 – c. post 323 BC), also written Dikaiarchos (/ˈdɪkaɪɑːrk/), was a Greek philosopher, geographer and author. Dicaearchus was a student of Aristotle in the Lyceum. Very little of his work remains extant. He wrote on geography and the history of Greece, of which his most important work was his Life of Greece. Although modern scholars often consider him a pioneer in the field of cartography, this is based on a misinterpretation of a reference in Cicero[1] to Dicaearchus' tabulae, which does not refer to any maps made by Dicaearchus but is a pun on account books and refers to Dicaearchus' Descent into the Sanctuary of Trophonius.[2] He also wrote books on ancient Greek poets, philosophy and politics.

Life

He was the son of one Pheidias, and born at Messana in Sicily,[3] though he passed part of his life in Greece, and especially in Athens and the Peloponnesus.[4] He also travelled to make his measurements of mountains. He was a disciple of Aristotle[5] and a friend of Aristoxenus (a letter written to him is attested in Cicero[6]). Eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century scholarship often considered him a friend of Theophrastus as well, but this is based on the reference to a man named Theophrastus in the spurious Description of Greece, which is transmitted under Dicaearchus' name but actually consists of excerpts from a geographic poem written by Dionysius, son of Calliphon, and from a prose periegesis of Greece, written by Heraclides Criticus. It is uncertain when Dicaearchus died. The only certain terminus post quem is the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC). According to Pliny,[7] Dicaearchus measured mountains "with the support of the kings" (cura regum). Most scholars identify these kings as Cassander and Ptolemy I Soter. If this identification is correct, this would put Dicaearchus' activity between 306 and 287 BC. However, the kings might also refer to Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, who were the nominatim kings after the death of Alexander the Great. If that identification is correct, this moves his activity to 323–317 BC.[8]

Writings

Dicaearchus was highly esteemed by the ancients as a philosopher and as a man of most extensive and learned information upon a great variety of things.[9] His work is known only from the many fragmentary quotations of later writers. His works were geographical, political, historical and philosophical; but it is difficult to draw up an accurate list of them, since some that are quoted as distinct works may have been only sections of greater ones, and many titles are only attested once. The fragments extant, moreover, do not always enable us to form a clear notion of the works to which they once belonged. The geographical works of Dicaearchus were, according to Strabo,[10] criticised in many respects by Polybius, though Strabo himself was more forgiving of Dicaearchus' ignorance of western and northern Europe, since – unlike Polybius – Dicaearchus had never visited these places.

Dicaearchus wrote on cultural history, music and literature:

• Life of Greece (Βίος Ἑλλάδος) – The Bios Hellados, in three books[11] is Dicaearchus’ most famous work. It inspired the Bios Hellados of Jason (identified as Jason of Nysa by the Suda[12] but perhaps a different historian with the same name[13]) and Varro's De vita populi Romani and De gente populi Romani. Only a few fragments actually cite the title,[14] but there are many fragments on cultural history that cite no title and might belong to this work.[15] Dicaearchus apparently attempted to write a biography of the Greek nation from earliest times to the reign of Philip II. The most famous passages are those cited by Varro[16] and Porphyry[17] on early history, which suggest a dualistic view of progress. His anthropological theory combined elements from the Hesiodic tradition of decay with progressivist theories. From Hesiod, he adopted the concept of a "golden race", which led a life of bliss but ultimately degenerated because humans became greedy, which led to war. This is combined with progressivist ideas, such as the harsh life of early man and the gradual invention of the arts. In his reconstruction, Dicaearchus distinguished three stages: the golden race, in which man lived off the spontaneously grown fruits of the earth, the pastoral life, in which man started domesticating and hunting animals, and the agricultural life, in which agriculture was introduced.[18] Dicaearchus apparently also explained the saying, "sharing stops choking", as a reference to how humans learned to distribute surplus fairly.[19] Dicaearchus also discussed the origin of the polis, which he derived from the expansion of families through marriage and the kinship of brothers and sisters.[20] According to Dicaearchus, various stages of this evolution were reflected in patrae, phratries and phylae, which were social organisations into which citizens were grouped in many poleis. Another remarkable feature of the Life of Greece is that the first book discussed Egypt and Babylon, probably as cultural predecessors of the Greeks. In the Life of Greece, Dicaearchus also stated that Euripides' Medea plagiarised the Medea play of the obscure tragedian Neophron.[21]
• On Musical Contests (Περὶ μουσικῶν ἀγώνων) and On Dionysiac Contests (Περὶ Διονυσιακῶν ἀγώνων) – These works discussed innovations in Greek music and drama. In On Dionysiac Contests, Dicaearchus probably also treated the story that, when competing at the Dionysia with the Oedipus Tyrannus, Sophocles was defeated by the tragedian Philocles,[22] and that Aristophanes' Frogs was staged twice.[23] In this work, Dicaearchus probably also stated that the third actor was introduced to Athenian tragedy by Sophocles.[24]
• On Alcaeus (Περὶ Ἀλκαίου) – This was a monograph on the Lesbian poet Alcaeus of Mitylene.
• Works on Homer and Euripides – Plutarch[25] cites Dicaearchus alongside Aristotle and Heraclides Ponticus as men who wrote on Homer and Euripides. Dicaearchus' works were probably either monographs on these poets (like his work On Alcaeus) or belonged to problemata literature (both Aristotle and Heraclides Ponticus wrote works on Homeric problems).

Among his geographical works may be mentioned:

• Circuit of the Earth (Γῆς περίοδος)[26] – This work was a geographical description of the world as it was then known. Dicaearchus divided the inhabited world into a northern and southern part, separated by a line running from the Strait of Gibraltar through Sicily to the Himalaya.[27] He attempted to calculate the distances between various points on this line. In the Circuit of the Earth, Dicaearchus also treated the famous problem of the flooding of the Nile.
• Measurements of mountains[28] – The Suda[29] cites the work as Measurements of Mountains in the Peloponnese (Καταμετρήσεις τῶν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ ὀρῶν), but other fragments show that Dicaearchus also measured mountains in Thessaly[30] and on Rhodes.[31] The work may have been part of his Circuit of the Earth. It was the earliest known attempt to measure the heights of various mountains by triangulation, for which he used a dioptra instrument. Dicaearchus' goal was to show that mountains were not as high as people believed and therefore did not impact the sphericity of the earth. Many of his results were later adopted by Eratosthenes.

Of a political nature was:

• Tripolitikos (Τριπολιτικός)[32] – A work which has been the subject of much dispute. It was probably a political dialogue (perhaps to be identified with the "political meeting" mentioned by Cicero[33]) or a speech. Since the only extant fragment discusses the Spartan public meals, some scholars identify it with the Spartan Constitution. Many scholars consider it a work on the mixed constitution, but this is based on a misinterpretation of the εἶδος δικαιαρχικόν, mentioned in Photius;[34] the word δικαιαρχικός does not refer to Dicaearchus but simply means "relating to a just government".[35]
• Constitutions – Dicaearchus is said to have written a Spartan Constitution (Πολιτεία Σπαρτιατῶν), Pellenian Constitution (Πελληναίων πολιτεία), Corinthian Constitution (Κορινθίων πολιτεία) and Athenian Constitution (Ἀθηναίων πολιτεία).[36] No fragments survive of these works. The Spartan Constitution was apparently read annually in the council of the ephors in Sparta, in the presence of the Spartan youth.[37]

Among his other philosophical works may be mentioned:

• On the Soul (Περὶ ψυχῆς) – Dicaearchus wrote two works on the soul: the Lesbian Dialogue (Λεσβιακός) and the Corinthian Dialogue (Κορινθιακός), both in three books. The titles refer to the scene where the philosophical dialogue was set, viz. at Mytilene in Lesbos and at Corinth, respectively. The general title for these two works was On the Soul (Περὶ ψυχῆς). In the Lesbian Dialogue, Dicaearchus endeavoured to prove that the soul was mortal.[38] In the Corinthian Dialogue, Dicaearchus argued that the soul has no existence outside the body. The first book presented a discussion of learned men about the soul. In the subsequent two books, a man named Pherecrates argued for the non-existence of the soul.[39]
• On the destruction of men (Latin: de interitu hominum)[40] – This work collected the causes of human destruction and concluded that man himself was the greatest threat. It is uncertain whether "de interitu hominum" is a book title or merely describes the content of the work.[41]
• Descent into Sanctuary of Trophonius (Εἰς Τροφωνίου κατάβασις)[42] – A work which consisted of several books. It appears to have been a work on luxury.[43] The title refers to the oracle of Trophonius in Lebadea, where people who wished to consult the oracle had to descend into a cave. Cicero informs us that he translated a section from this work in his De re publica.[44] The work may have also contained an account of the degenerate and licentious proceedings of the priests in the cave of Trophonius.
• On Lives (Περὶ βίων) – This was probably a philosophical work on the right way of life.[45] The title is only attested once.[46] The fragments on philosophers (the Seven Sages, Pythagoras and Plato) are usually attributed to this work, though they may belong to other works such as the Life of Greece or the Circuit of the Earth as well. Of particular interest is the fragment on the death of Pythagoras, for which Dicaearchus claims to rely on local oral sources from Southern Italy.[47]
• On the Sacrifice at Ilium (Περὶ τῆς ἐν Ἰλίῳ ϑυσίας)[48] – The title refers to the sacrifice which Alexander the Great performed at Ilium at the start of his expedition against Darius III. Together with his beloved Hephaestion, he paid honours on the tombs of Achilles and Patroclus at Troy, probably as a proclamation of their own relationship, which was mirrored on these two mythical heroes. The sole fragment that remains of this work discusses the story that, after the march through the Gedrosian Desert, Alexander passionately kissed the eunuch Bagoas in a full theatre, to great applause. This suggests that the work may have treated Alexander's relationships, perhaps as part of a more general discussion on love.[49]

Dicaearchus also wrote speeches:

• Olympikos (Ὀλυμπικός),[50] Panathenaikos (Παναθηναϊκός)[51] – These are usually considered either works on contests held at the Olympic Games and the Panathenaic Games or philosophical dialogues. However, the most plausible interpretation is that they were speeches.[52] Indeed, the Suda explicitly calls Dicaearchus an orator (ῥήτωρ).[53]

There is lastly one spurious work and one doubtful work:

• Description of Greece (Ἀναγραφὴ τῆς Ἑλλάδος) – This work is spurious. Although it is transmitted under Dicaearchus' name, it actually consists of excerpts from two separate works. One is a geographic work dedicated to "Theophrastus", and consisting of 150 iambic lines; the acrostic of the first twenty-three lines shows that it was really the work of one "Dionysius, son of Calliphon". The other work is a prose periegesis entitled On the Cities in Greece and was written by Heraclides Criticus.[54]
• Summaries of the Tales from Euripides and Sophocles (ὑποθέσεις τῶν Εὐριπίδου καὶ Σοφοκλέους μύθων)[55] – This was a collection of plot summaries of the plays of Euripides and Sophocles. Many of these summaries survive in papyri or have been prefaced to the plays of Euripides in medieval manuscripts. This work is unlikely to have been written by the Peripatetic Dicaearchus. It was probably either wrongly attributed to him or was the work of another man named Dicaearchus, a grammarian of Lacedaemon, who, according to the Suda,[56] was a disciple of Aristarchus.[57]

References

1. Cicero, Ad Atticum, vi. 2. 3
2. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 34–35, 279–280.
3. Suda, δ 1062.
4. Cicero, Ad Atticum, vi. 2. 3.
5. FGrHist 1400 T 7a–f.
6. Cicero, ad Atticum, xiii. 32. 2.
7. Pliny, Naturalis historia, ii. 162.
8. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 5, 196–198.
9. Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes, i. 41, De officiis, ii. 16; Varro, Res rusticae, i. 2. 16; Pliny, Naturalis historia, ii. 162.
10. Strabo, ii. 4. 2.
11. Mirhady 1.7a
12. Suda, ι 52.
13. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 9–10.
14. FGrHist 1400 F 1–9.
15. FGrHist 1400 F 24–35.
16. Varro, Res rusticae, i. 2. 15–16, ii. 1. 3–5 = Mirhady 54–55.
17. Porphyry, De abstinentia, iv. 2. 1–9 = Mirhady 56A.
18. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 9, 231–241.
19. Zenobius, v. 23 = Mirhady 57
20. Stephanus Byzantius, π 68.
21. Hypothesis A 2 on Euripides' Medea (Dain-Mazon-Irigoin).
22. Hypothesis 2 on Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus (Dain-Mazon-Irigoin).
23. Hypothesis 1 on Aristophanes' Frogs (Wilson).
24. Vita of Aeschylus, 15 (Radt).
25. Plutarch, Non posse suaviter vivi secundum Epicurum, xii. 1095a.
26. Lydus, de Mensibus, iv. 107.
27. Agathemerus, Geographiae informatio, 5.
28. Pliny, H. N. ii. 65; Geminus, Elem. Astron. 14.
29. Suda, δ 1062.
30. Pliny, Naturalis historia, ii. 162.
31. Geminus, Elementa astronomiae, xvii. 5.
32. Athenaeus, iv. 141a–c; Cicero, Ad Atticum, xiii. 32. 2.
33. Cicero, Ad Atticum, xiii. 30. 2.
34. Photius, Bibliotheca, codex 37 p. 8a Bekker.
35. Fotiou, A. S. (1981), "Dikaiarchos and the mixed constitution in sixth century Byzantium: new evidence from a treatise on "political science."” Byzantion 51: 533–547; Verhasselt 2018, pp. 24–25, 581–583.
36. Cicero, Ad Atticum, ii. 2. 2.
37. Suda, δ 1062.
38. Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes, i. 77.
39. Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes, i. 21.
40. Cicero, De officiis, ii. 16.
41. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 12–13.
42. Cicero, Ad Atticum, vi. 2. 3, xiii. 31. 2, xiii. 32. 2, xiii. 33. 2; Athenaeus, xiii. 594e, xiv. 641e.
43. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 14–15.
44. Cicero, Ad Atticum, vi. 2. 3. The passage is De re publica, ii. 7–9.
45. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 21–24.
46. Diogenes Laertius, iii. 4–5.
47. Porphyry, Vita Pythagorae, 56–57.
48. Athenaeus, xiii. 603a–b.
49. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 13–14, 272–273.
50. Athenaeus, xiv. 620d.
51. Scholion ad Aristophanis Vespis 544b (Koster).
52. Verhasselt 2018, pp. 15–17.
53. Suda, δ 1062.
54. FGrHist 2022 = BNJ 369A.
55. Sextus Empiricus, Adversus mathematicos, iii. 3.
56. Suda, δ 1063.
57. Verhasselt (2015). "The Hypotheses of Euripides and Sophocles by 'Dicaearchus'". Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. 55: 608–636.

Sources

• David C. Mirhady, "Dicaearchus of Messana: The Sources, Texts and Translations," in Fortenbaugh, W., Schütrumpf, E., (editors) Dicaearchus of Messana: Text, Translation, and Discussion. Transaction Publishers. (2001). ISBN 0-7658-0093-4
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Further reading

Editions

• Fortenbaugh, W., Schütrumpf, E., (editors) Dicaearchus of Messana: Text, Translation, and Discussion. Transaction Publishers. (2001). ISBN 0-7658-0093-4
• Verhasselt, G. Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker Continued. IV. Biography and antiquarian literature, B. History of literature, music, art and culture. Fasc. 9 Dikaiarchos of Messene No. 1400. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2018. ISBN 9789004357419
• Wehrli, F., Dikaiarchos. Die Schule des Aristoteles. Texte und Kommentar, Hft. 1. Schwabe. 2nd edition (1967)
Studies
• Alonso-Núñez, J.M., 'Approaches to world history in the Hellenistic period: Dicaearchus and Agatharchides' Athenaeum 85 (1997) 53–67
• Bodei Giglioni, G., 'Dicearco e la riflessione sul passato' Rivista Storica Italiana 98 (1986) 629–652
• Cooper, C., 'Aristoxenus, Περὶ Βίων and Peripatetic biography' Mouseion 2(3) (2002) 307–339
• Purcell, N., 'The way we used to eat: diet, community, and history at Rome' American Journal of Philology 124 (2003) 329–358
• Verhasselt, G. , ᾿Dicaearchus on Alcaeus: A Peripatetic approach to archaic poetry' Rivista di filologia e istruzione classica 144 (2016) 266–299
• Verhasselt, G., 'What were works Περὶ βίων? A study of the extant fragments' Philologus 160 (2016) 59–83

External links

• Fragments des poemes géographiques de Scymnus de Chio et du faux Dicéarque, M. Letronne (ed.), Paris, Librairie de Gide, 1840.

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Stephanus of Byzantium
by Wikipedia
11/19/22

Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium (Latin: Stephanus Byzantinus; Greek: Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, Stéphanos Byzántios; fl. 6th century AD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica (Ἐθνικά). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epitome is extant, compiled by one Hermolaus, not otherwise identified.

Life


The Byzantine Empire during Stephanus' lifetime, with Justinian's conquests in green

Nothing is known about the life of Stephanus, except that he was a Greek grammarian[1] who was active in Constantinople, and lived after the time of Arcadius and Honorius, and before that of Justinian II. Later writers provide no information about him, but they do note that the work was later reduced to an epitome by a certain Hermolaus, who dedicated his epitome to Justinian; whether the first or second emperor of that name is meant is disputed, but it seems probable that Stephanus flourished in Byzantium in the earlier part of the sixth century AD, under Justinian I.[2]

The Ethnica

Even as an epitome, the Ethnica is of enormous value for geographical, mythological, and religious information about ancient Greece. Nearly every article in the epitome contains a reference to some ancient writer, as an authority for the name of the place. From the surviving fragments, we see that the original contained considerable quotations from ancient authors, besides many interesting particulars, topographical, historical, mythological, and others. Stephanus cites Artemidorus, Polybius, Aelius Herodianus, Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Strabo and other writers.[3]

The chief fragments remaining of the original work are preserved by Constantine Porphyrogennetos, De administrando imperio, ch. 23 (the article Ίβηρίαι δύο) and De thematibus, ii. 10 (an account of Sicily); the latter includes a passage from the comic poet Alexis on the Seven Largest Islands. Another respectable fragment, from the article Δύμη to the end of Δ, exists in a manuscript of the Fonds Coislin, the library formed by Pierre Séguier.[4]

The first modern printed edition of the work was that published by the Aldine Press in Venice, 1502. The complete standard edition is still that of Augustus Meineke (1849, reprinted at Graz, 1958), and by convention, references to the text use Meineke's page numbers. A new completely revised edition in German, edited by B. Wyss, C. Zubler, M. Billerbeck, J.F. Gaertner, was published between 2006 and 2017, with a total of 5 volumes.[5]

Editions

• Aldus Manutius (pr.), 1502, Στέφανος. Περὶ πόλεων (Peri poleōn) = Stephanus. De urbibus ("On cities") (Venice). Google Books
• Guilielmus Xylander, 1568, Στέφανος. Περὶ πόλεων = Stephanus. De urbibus (Basel).
• Thomas de Pinedo, 1678, Στέφανος. Περὶ πόλεων = Stephanus. De urbibus (Amsterdam). Contains parallel Latin translation. Google Books
• Claudius Salmasius (Claude Saumaise) and Abraham van Berkel, 1688, Στεφάνου Βυζαντίου Ἐθνικὰ κατ' ἐπιτομήν Περὶ πόλεων = Stephani Byzantini Gentilia per epitomen, antehac De urbibus inscripta (Leiden). Contains parallel Latin translation. Google Books
• Lucas Holstenius, 1692, Notae & castigationes in Stephanum Byzantium De urbibus (Leiden). Google Books
• Thomas de Pinedo, 1725, Stephanus de urbibus (Amsterdam). Google Books
• Karl Wilhelm Dindorf, 1825, Stephanus Byzantinus. Opera, 4 vols, (Leipzig). Incorporating notes by L. Holsteinius, A. Berkelius, and T. de Pinedo. Google Books
• Anton Westermann, 1839, Stephani Byzantii ethnikon quae supersunt (Leipzig). Google Books
• Augustus Meineke, 1849, Stephani Byzantii ethnicorum quae supersunt (Berlin). Google Books
• Margarethe Billerbeck et al. (edd), Stephani Byzantii Ethnica. 5 volumes: 2006–2017. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 43/1)[5][6][7]

References

1. Browning, Robert (2016-03-07). "Stephanus of Byzantium". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6074. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
2. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Stephanus Byzantinus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 880.
3. J. S. Richardson, Hispaniae: Spain and the Development of Roman Imperialism, 218-82 BC: "In four places, the lexicographer Stephanus of Byzantium refers to towns and ... Artemidorus as source, and in three of the four examples cites Polybius.; From political architecture to Stephanus Byzantius
4. Chisholm 1911, p. 880.
5. Jump up to:a b de Gruyter
6. Reviewed by C. Neri in
7. Reviewed by Martin L. West

Further reading

• Smith, W., Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. 3, s.v. "Stephanus" (2) of Byzantium.
• Diller, Aubrey 1938, "The tradition of Stephanus Byzantius", Transactions of the American Philological Association 69: 333–48.
• E.H. Bunbury, 1883, History of Ancient Geography (London), vol. i. 102, 135, 169; ii. 669–71.
• Holstenius, L., 1684 (posth.), Lucae Holstenii Notae et castigationes postumae in Stephani Byzantii Ethnika, quae vulgo Peri poleōn inscribuntur (Leiden).
• Niese, B., 1873, De Stephani Byzantii auctoribus (Kiel)
• Johannes Geffcken, 1886, De Stephano Byzantio (Göttingen)
• Whitehead, D. (ed.), 1994, From political architecture to Stephanus Byzantius : sources for the ancient Greek polis (Stuttgart).

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Diogenes Laertius
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/19/22

For other people named Diogenes, see Diogenes (disambiguation).

Diogenes Laërtius (/daɪˌɒdʒɪniːz leɪˈɜːrʃiəs/ dy-OJ-in-eez lay-UR-shee-əs;[1] Greek: Διογένης Λαέρτιος, Laertios; [fl. 3rd century AD) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy. His reputation is controversial among scholars because he often repeats information from his sources without critically evaluating it. He also frequently focuses on trivial or insignificant details of his subjects' lives while ignoring important details of their philosophical teachings and he sometimes fails to distinguish between earlier and later teachings of specific philosophical schools. However, unlike many other ancient secondary sources, Diogenes Laërtius generally reports philosophical teachings without attempting to reinterpret or expand on them, which means his accounts are often closer to the primary sources. Due to the loss of so many of the primary sources on which Diogenes relied, his work has become the foremost surviving source on the history of Greek philosophy.

Life


17th-century engraving

Laërtius must have lived after Sextus Empiricus (c. 200), whom he mentions, and before Stephanus of Byzantium and Sopater of Apamea (c. 500), who quote him. His work makes no mention of Neoplatonism, even though it is addressed to a woman who was "an enthusiastic Platonist".[2] Hence he is assumed to have flourished in the first half of the 3rd century, during the reign of Alexander Severus (222–235) and his successors.[3]

The precise form of his name is uncertain. The ancient manuscripts invariably refer to a "Laertius Diogenes", and this form of the name is repeated by Sopater[4] and the Suda.[5] The modern form "Diogenes Laertius" is much rarer, used by Stephanus of Byzantium,[6] and in a lemma to the Greek Anthology.[7] He is also referred to as "Laertes"[8] or simply "Diogenes".[9]

The origin of the name "Laertius" is also uncertain. Stephanus of Byzantium refers to him as "Διογένης ὁ Λαερτιεύς" (Diogenes ho Laertieus),[10] implying that he was the native of some town, perhaps the Laerte in Caria (or another Laerte in Cilicia). Another suggestion is that one of his ancestors had for a patron a member of the Roman family of the Laërtii.[11] The prevailing modern theory is that "Laertius" is a nickname (derived from the Homeric epithet Diogenes Laertiade, used in addressing Odysseus) used to distinguish him from the many other people called Diogenes in the ancient world.[12]

His home town is unknown (at best uncertain, even according to a hypothesis that Laertius refers to his origin). A disputed passage in his writings has been used to suggest that it was Nicaea in Bithynia.[13][14]

It has been suggested that Diogenes was an Epicurean or a Pyrrhonist. He passionately defends Epicurus[15] in Book 10, which is of high quality and contains three long letters attributed to Epicurus explaining Epicurean doctrines.[16] He is impartial to all schools, in the manner of the Pyrrhonists, and he carries the succession of Pyrrhonism further than that of the other schools. At one point, he even seems to refer to the Pyrrhonists as "our school."[13] On the other hand, most of these points can be explained by the way he uncritically copies from his sources. It is by no means certain that he adhered to any school, and he is usually more attentive to biographical details.[17]

In addition to the Lives, Diogenes refers to another work that he had written in verse on famous men, in various metres, which he called Epigrammata or Pammetros (Πάμμετρος).[3]

Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers


Dionysiou monastery, codex 90, a 13th-century manuscript containing selections from Herodotus, Plutarch and (shown here) Diogenes Laertius

The work by which he is known, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (Greek: Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων; Latin: Vitae Philosophorum), was written in Greek and professes to give an account of the lives and sayings of the Greek philosophers.

Although it is at best an uncritical and unphilosophical compilation, its value, as giving us an insight into the private lives of the Greek sages, led Montaigne to write that he wished that instead of one Laërtius there had been a dozen.[18] On the other hand, modern scholars have advised that we treat Diogenes' testimonia with care, especially when he fails to cite his sources: "Diogenes has acquired an importance out of all proportion to his merits because the loss of many primary sources and of the earlier secondary compilations has accidentally left him the chief continuous source for the history of Greek philosophy".[19]

Organization of the work

Diogenes divides his subjects into two "schools" which he describes as the Ionian/Ionic and the Italian/Italic; the division is somewhat dubious and appears to be drawn from the lost doxography of Sotion. The biographies of the "Ionian school" begin with Anaximander and end with Clitomachus, Theophrastus and Chrysippus; the "Italian" begins with Pythagoras and ends with Epicurus. The Socratic school, with its various branches, is classed with the Ionic; while the Eleatics and Pyrrhonists are treated under the Italic. He also includes his own poetic verse, albeit pedestrian, about the philosophers he discusses.

Books 1–7: Ionian Philosophy
Book 1: The Seven Sages
Thales, Solon, Chilon, Pittacus, Bias, Cleobulus, Periander, Anacharsis, Myson, Epimenides, Pherecydes
Book 2: Socrates, with predecessors and followers
Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, Socrates, Xenophon, Aeschines, Aristippus, Phaedo, Euclides, Stilpo, Crito, Simon, Glaucon, Simmias, Cebes, Menedemus of Eretria
Book 3: Plato
Plato
Book 4: The Academy
Speusippus, Xenocrates, Polemo, Crates of Athens, Crantor, Arcesilaus, Bion, Lacydes, Carneades, Clitomachus
Book 5: The Peripatetics
Aristotle, Theophrastus, Strato, Lyco, Demetrius, Heraclides
Book 6: The Cynics
Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, Monimus, Onesicritus, Crates of Thebes, Metrocles, Hipparchia, Menippus, Menedemus
Book 7: The Stoics
Zeno of Citium, Aristo, Herillus, Dionysius, Cleanthes, Sphaerus, Chrysippus
Books 8–10: Italian Philosophy
Book 8: Pythagoreans
Pythagoras, Empedocles, Epicharmus, Archytas, Alcmaeon, Hippasus, Philolaus, Eudoxus
Book 9: (Eleatics, Atomists, Pyrrhonists)
Heraclitus, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Melissus, Zeno of Elea, Leucippus, Democritus, Protagoras, Diogenes of Apollonia, Anaxarchus, Pyrrho, Timon
Book 10: Epicurus
Epicurus

The work contains incidental remarks on many other philosophers, and there are useful accounts concerning Hegesias, Anniceris, and Theodorus (Cyrenaics);[20] Persaeus (Stoic);[21] and Metrodorus and Hermarchus (Epicureans).[22] Book VII is incomplete and breaks off during the life of Chrysippus. From a table of contents in one of the manuscripts (manuscript P), this book is known to have continued with Zeno of Tarsus, Diogenes, Apollodorus, Boethus, Mnesarchus, Mnasagoras, Nestor, Basilides, Dardanus, Antipater, Heraclides, Sosigenes, Panaetius, Hecato, Posidonius, Athenodorus, another Athenodorus, Antipater, Arius, and Cornutus. The whole of Book X is devoted to Epicurus, and contains three long letters written by Epicurus, which explain Epicurean doctrines.

His chief authorities were Favorinus and Diocles of Magnesia, but his work also draws (either directly or indirectly) on books by Antisthenes of Rhodes, Alexander Polyhistor, and Demetrius of Magnesia, as well as works by Hippobotus, Aristippus, Panaetius, Apollodorus of Athens, Sosicrates, Satyrus, Sotion, Neanthes, Hermippus, Antigonus, Heraclides, Hieronymus, and Pamphila.[23][24]

Oldest extant manuscripts

There are many extant manuscripts of the Lives, although none of them are especially old, and they all descend from a common ancestor, because they all lack the end of Book VII.[25] The three most useful manuscripts are known as B, P, and F. Manuscript B (Codex Borbonicus) dates from the 12th century, and is in the National Library of Naples.[a] Manuscript P (Paris) is dated to the 11th/12th century, and is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.[27] Manuscript F (Florence) is dated to the 13th century, and is in the Laurentian Library.[27] The titles for the individual biographies used in modern editions are absent from these earliest manuscripts, however they can be found inserted into the blank spaces and margins of manuscript P by a later hand.[27]

There seem to have been some early Latin translations, but they no longer survive. A 10th-century work entitled Tractatus de dictis philosophorum shows some knowledge of Diogenes.[28] Henry Aristippus, in the 12th century, is known to have translated at least some of the work into Latin, and in the 14th century an unknown author made use of a Latin translation for his De vita et moribus philosophorum[28] (attributed erroneously to Walter Burley).

Printed editions


Title page of an edition in Greek and Latin, 1594


1611 Italian edition

The first printed editions were Latin translations. The first, Laertii Diogenis Vitae et sententiae eorum qui in philosophia probati fuerunt (Romae: Giorgo Lauer, 1472), printed the translation of Ambrogio Traversari (whose manuscript presentation copy to Cosimo de' Medici was dated February 8, 1433[29]) and was edited by Elio Francesco Marchese.[30] The Greek text of the lives of Aristotle and Theophrastus appeared in the third volume of the Aldine Aristotle in 1497. The first edition of the whole Greek text was that published by Hieronymus Froben in 1533.[31] The Greek/Latin edition of 1692 by Marcus Meibomius divided each of the ten books into paragraphs of equal length, and progressively numbered them, providing the system still in use today.[27]

The first critical edition of the entire text, by H.S. Long in the Oxford Classical Texts, was not produced until 1964;[25] this edition was superseded by Miroslav Marcovich's Teubner edition, published between 1999 and 2002. A new edition, by Tiziano Dorandi, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013.[32]

English translations

Thomas Stanley's 1656 History of Philosophy adapts the format and content of Laertius' work into English, but Stanley compiled his book from a number of classical biographies of philosophers.[33] The first complete English translation was a late 17th-century translation by ten different persons.[34] A better translation was made by Charles Duke Yonge (1853),[35] but although this was more literal, it still contained many inaccuracies.[36] The next translation was by Robert Drew Hicks (1925) for the Loeb Classical Library,[37] although it is slightly bowdlerized. A new translation by Pamela Mensch was published by Oxford University Press in 2018.[38]

Legacy and assessment


The Italian Renaissance scholar, painter, philosopher, and architect Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) modeled his own autobiography on Diogenes Laërtius's Life of Thales.[39]

Henricus Aristippus, the archdeacon of Catania, produced a Latin translation of Diogenes Laertius's book in southern Italy in the late 1150s, which has since been lost or destroyed.[39]

Henry Aristippus of Calabria (born in Santa Severina in 1105–10; died in Palermo in 1162), sometimes known as Enericus or Henricus Aristippus, was a religious scholar and the archdeacon of Catania (from c. 1155) and later chief familiaris of the triumvirate of familiares who replaced the admiral Maio of Bari as chief functionaries of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1161.

While the historian of Norman Sicily, John Julius Norwich, believes him to have probably been of Norman extraction despite his Greek surname, Donald Matthew considers it self-evident, based on both his name and occupations, that he was Greek. He was first and foremost a scholar and, even if Greek, he was an adherent of the Latin church.

Aristippus was an envoy to Constantinople (1158-1160) when he received from the emperor Manuel I Comnenus a Greek copy of Ptolemy's Almagest. A student of the Schola Medica Salernitana tracked down Aristippus and his copy on Mount Etna (observing an eruption) and proceeded to give a Latin translation. Though this was the first translation of the Almagest into Latin, it was not as influential as a later translation into Latin made by Gerard of Cremona from the Arabic. The original manuscript is probably in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice.

Aristippus himself produced the first Latin translation of Plato's Phaedo (1160) and Meno and the fourth book of Aristotle's Meteorologica. He also translated Gregory of Nazianzus at the request of William I of Sicily.

In 1161, William appointed three familiares—Aristippus, Sylvester of Marsico, and the Bishop Palmer—to replace the assassinated Maio. In 1162, Aristippus was suspected of disloyalty by the king and imprisoned. He died probably soon after in that very year. He may have helped himself to some of the royal concubines during the rebellion of 1161.

-- Henry Aristippus, by Wikipedia

Geremia da Montagnone used this translation as a source for his Compedium moralium notabilium (circa 1310) and an anonymous Italian author used it as a source for work entitled Liber de vita et moribus philosophorum (written c. 1317–1320), which reached international popularity in the Late Middle Ages.[39] The monk Ambrogio Traversari (1386–1439) produced another Latin translation in Florence between 1424 and 1433, for which far better records have survived.[39] The Italian Renaissance scholar, painter, philosopher, and architect Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) borrowed from Traversari's translation of the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers in Book 2 of his Libri della famiglia[39] and modeled his own autobiography on Diogenes Laërtius's Life of Thales.[39]

Diogenes Laërtius's work has had a complicated reception in modern times.[40] The value of his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers as an insight into the private lives of the Greek sages led the French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) to exclaim that he wished that, instead of one Laërtius, there had been a dozen.[41] Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) criticized Diogenes Laërtius for his lack of philosophical talent and categorized his work as nothing more than a compilation of previous writers' opinions.[39] Nonetheless, he admitted that Diogenes Laërtius's compilation was an important one given the information that it contained.[39] Hermann Usener (1834–1905) deplored Diogenes Laërtius as a "complete ass" (asinus germanus) in his Epicurea (1887).[39] Werner Jaeger (1888–1961) damned him as "that great ignoramus".[42] In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, however, scholars have managed to partially redeem Diogenes Laertius's reputation as a writer by reading his book in a Hellenistic literary context.[40]

Nonetheless, modern scholars treat Diogenes's testimonia with caution, especially when he fails to cite his sources. Herbert S. Long warns: "Diogenes has acquired an importance out of all proportion to his merits because the loss of many primary sources and of the earlier secondary compilations has accidentally left him the chief continuous source for the history of Greek philosophy."[19] Robert M. Strozier offers a somewhat more positive assessment of Diogenes Laertius's reliability, noting that many other ancient writers attempt to reinterpret and expand on the philosophical teachings they describe, something which Diogenes Laërtius rarely does.[43] Strozier concludes, "Diogenes Laertius is, when he does not conflate hundreds of years of distinctions, reliable simply because he is a less competent thinker than those on whom he writes, is less liable to re-formulate statements and arguments, and especially in the case of Epicurus, less liable to interfere with the texts he quotes. He does, however, simplify."[43]

Despite his importance to the history of western philosophy and the controversy surrounding him, according to Gian Mario Cao, Diogenes Laërtius has still not received adequate philological attention.[39] Both modern critical editions of his book, by H. S. Long (1964) and by M. Marcovich (1999) have received extensive criticism from scholars.[39]

He is criticized primarily for being overly concerned with superficial details of the philosophers' lives and lacking the intellectual capacity to explore their actual philosophical works with any penetration. However, according to statements of the 14th-century monk Walter Burley in his De vita et moribus philosophorum, the text of Diogenes seems to have been much fuller than that which we now possess.

Editions and translations

• Diogenis Laertii Vitae philosophorum edidit Miroslav Marcovich, Stuttgart-Lipsia, Teubner, 1999–2002. Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana, vol. 1: Books I–X ISBN 9783598713163; vol. 2: Excerpta Byzantina; v. 3: Indices by Hans Gärtner.
• Lives of Eminent Philosophers, edited by Tiziano Dorandi, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013 (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, vol. 50, new radically improved critical edition).
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1688). The lives, opinions, and remarkable sayings of the most famous ancient philosophers. The first volume written in Greek, by Diogenes Laertius ; made English by several hands. Vol. 1. Translated by Fetherstone, T.; White, Sam.; Smith, E.; Philips, J.; Kippax, R.; Baxter, William; M., R. (2 volumes ed.). London: Edward Brewster.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1853). Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers. Translated by Yonge, Charles Duke. London: G.H. Bohn.
• Translation by R.D. Hicks:
o "Index" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. 1925.
o Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Vol. I. Harvard University Press, Loeb Classical Library. 1925. ISBN 978-0-674-99203-0.
o Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Vol. II. Harvard University Press, Loeb Classical Library. 1925. ISBN 978-0-674-99204-7.
• Translations based on the critical edition by Tiziano Dorandi:
o Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Translated by Pamela Mensch. Oxford University Press. 2018. ISBN 978-0-19-086217-6.
o Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Translated by Stephen White. Cambidge University Press. 2020. ISBN 978-0-521-88335-1.

See also

• Mochus

Notes

1. The statement by Robert Hicks (1925) that "the scribe obviously knew no Greek",[26] was later rejected by Herbert Long. The more recent opinion of Tiziano Dorandi, however, is that the scribe had "little knowledge of Greek ... and limited himself to reproducing it in a mechanical way exactly as he managed to decipher it". A few years later an "anonymous corrector" with good knowledge of Greek rectified "many errors or readings that, rightly or wrongly, he considered erroneous" (Dorandi 2013, p. [page needed]).
1. "Diogenes Laërtius", The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2013
2. Laërtius 1925a, § 47.
3. Chisholm1911, p. 282.
4. Sopater, ap. Photius, Biblioth. 161
5. Suda, Tetralogia
6. Stephanus of Byzantium, Druidai
7. Lemma to Anthologia Palatina, vii. 95
8. Eustathius, on Iliad, M. 153
9. Stephanus of Byzantium, Enetoi
10. Stephanus of Byzantium, Cholleidai
11. Smith 1870, p. 1028.
12. Long 1972, p. xvi.
13. Laërtius 1925b, § 109. Specifically, Diogenes refers to "our Apollonides of Nicaea". This has been conjectured to mean either "my fellow-citizen" or "a Sceptic like myself".
14. Craig 1998, p. 86.
15. Laërtius 1925c, § 3–12.
16. Laërtius 1925c, § 34–135.
17. Long 1972, pp. xvii–xviii.
18. Montaigne, Essays II.10 "Of Books" Archived 2009-02-14 at the Wayback Machine.
19. Long 1972, p. xix.
20. Laërtius 1925b, § 93–104.
21. Laërtius 1925c, § 36.
22. Laërtius 1925d, § 22–26.
23. Friedrich Nietzsche, Gesammelte Werke, 1920, p. 363.
24. Long 1972, p. xxi.
25. Long 1972, p. xxv.
26. Hicks 1925, p. [page needed].
27. Dorandi 2013, p. [page needed].
28. Long 1972, p. xxvi.
29. de la Mare 1992, p. [page needed].
30. Tolomio 1993, pp. 154, ff.
31. Long 1972, p. xxiv.
32. "Diogenes Laertius: Lives of Eminent Philosophers". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
33. Stanley, Thomas (1656). The History of Philosophy. London: J. Mosely and T. Dring.
34. Fetherstone et al 1688, Volume 1, Volume 2 (published 1696).
35. Yonge 1853.
36. Long 1972, p. xiii.
37. Laërtius 1925.
38. Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius. Oxford University Press. 14 May 2018. ISBN 978-0-19-086217-6. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
39. Cao 2010, p. 271.
40. Cao 2010, pp. 271–272.
41. Montaigne, Essays II.10 "Of Books" Archived February 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
42. Jaeger 1947, p. 330 n.2.
43. Strozier 1985, p. 15.

References

• Cao, Gian Mario (2010), "Diogenes Laertius", in Grafton, Anthony; Most, Glenn W.; Settis, Salvatore (eds.), The Classical Tradition, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, pp. 271–272, ISBN 978-0-674-03572-0
• Dorandi, Tiziano, ed. (2013). "Introduction". Diogenes Laertius: Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521886819.
• Craig, Edward, ed. (1998). "Diogenes Laertius (c. AD 300–50)". Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 4. p. 86.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925a). "Plato" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:3. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925b). "Others: Timon" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 2:9. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925c). "Epicurus" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 2:10. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925). "Index" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925b). "Socrates, with predecessors and followers: Aristippus" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:2. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 65–104.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925c). "The Stoics: Zeno" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 2:7. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 1–160.
• Laërtius, Diogenes (1925d). "Epicurus" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 2:10. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 1–154.
• Long, Herbert S. (1972). Introduction. Lives of Eminent Philosophers. By Laërtius, Diogenes. Vol. 1 (reprint ed.). Loeb Classical Library. p. xvi.
• Hicks, Robert Drew (1925). Introduction. Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. By Laërtius, Diogenes. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (reprint ed.). Loeb Classical Library.[clarification needed]
• Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Diogenes Laertius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
• de la Mare, Albinia Catherine (1992). "Cosimo and his Books". In Ames-Lewis, F. (ed.). Cosimo 'il Vecchio' de' Medici, 1389–1464. Oxford.
• Strozier, Robert M. (1985), Epicurus and Hellenistic Philosophy, Lanham, Maryland and London, England: University Press of America, ISBN 978-0-8191-4405-8
• Jaeger, Werner (1947). Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture. Vol. III. Translated by Highet, Gilbert. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Tolomio, Ilario (1993). "Editions of Diogenes Laertius in the Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries". In Santinello, G.; et al. (eds.). Models of the History of Philosophy. Vol. 1. Dordrecht: Kluwer. pp. 154, ff.

Further reading

• Barnes, Jonathan. 1992. "Diogenes Laertius IX 61–116: The Philosophy of Pyrrhonism." In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung. Vol. 2: 36.5–6. Edited by Wolfgang Haase, 4241–4301. Berlin: W. de Gruyter.
• Barnes, Jonathan. 1986. "Nietzsche and Diogenes Laertius." Nietzsche-Studien 15:16–40.
• Dorandi, Tiziano. 2009. Laertiana: Capitoli sulla tradizione manoscritta e sulla storia del testo delle Vite dei filosofi di Diogene Laerzio. Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter.
• Eshleman, Kendra Joy. 2007. "Affection and Affiliation: Social Networks and Conversion to Philosophy." The Classical Journal 103.2: 129–140.
• Grau, Sergi. 2010. "How to Kill a Philosopher: The Narrating of Ancient Greek Philosophers' Deaths in Relation to the Living. Ancient Philosophy 30.2: 347-381
• Hägg, Tomas. 2012. The Art of Biography in Antiquity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Kindstrand, Jan Frederik. 1986. "Diogenes Laertius and the Chreia Tradition." Elenchos 7:217–234.
• Long, Anthony A. 2006. "Diogenes Laertius, Life of Arcesilaus." In From Epicurus to Epictetus: Studies in Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy. Edited by Anthony A. Long, 96–114. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
• Mansfeld, Jaap. 1986. "Diogenes Laertius on Stoic Philosophy." Elenchos 7: 295–382.
• Mejer, Jørgen. 1978. Diogenes Laertius and his Hellenistic Background. Wiesbaden: Steiner.
• Mejer, Jørgen. 1992. "Diogenes Laertius and the Transmission of Greek Philosophy." In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung. Vol. 2: 36.5–6. Edited by Wolfgang Haase, 3556–3602. Berlin: W. de Gruyter.
• Morgan, Teresa J. 2013. "Encyclopaedias of Virtue?: Collections of Sayings and Stories About Wise Men in Greek." In Encyclopaedism from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Edited by Jason König and Greg Woolf, 108–128. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Sassi, Maria Michela. 2011. Ionian Philosophy and Italic Philosophy: From Diogenes Laertius to Diels. In The Presocratics from the Latin Middle Ages to Hermann Diels. Edited by Oliver Primavesi and Katharina Luchner, 19–44. Stuttgart: Steiner.
• Sollenberger, Michael. 1992. The Lives of the Peripatetics: An Analysis of the Content and Structure of Diogenes Laertius’ “Vitae philosophorum” Book 5. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung. Vol. 2: 36.5–6. Edited by Wolfgang Haase, 3793–3879. Berlin: W. de Gruyter.
• Vogt, Katja Maria, ed. 2015. Pyrrhonian Skepticism in Diogenes Laertius. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck.
• Warren, James. 2007. "Diogenes Laertius, Biographer of Philosophy." In Ordering Knowledge in the Roman Empire. Edited by Jason König and Tim Whitmars, 133–149. Cambridge; New York : Cambridge University Press.

Attribution:

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Diogenes Laërtius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 282.

External links

• Works by Diogenes Laertius at Perseus Digital Library
• Works by Diogenes Laertius in eBook form at Standard Ebooks
• Works by Diogenes Laertius at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Diogenes Laertius at Internet Archive
• Works by Diogenes Laertius at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Ancient Greek text of Diogenes's Lives
• Article on the Manuscript versions at the Tertullian Project
• A bibliography of the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
• Libro de la vita de philosophi et delle loro elegantissime sentencie. Venice, Joannes Rubeus Vercellensis, 20 May 1489. From the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress
• Digitized Manuscript of Diogenes Laertius' Vitae Philosophorum (Arundel MS 531) at the British Library website

[admin]

Oded Golan
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/22/22

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

-- Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal, created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier
-- King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone, directed by Sean Smith
-- Oded Golan, by Wikipedia
-- False Testament: Archaeology Refutes the Bible's Claim to History, by Daniel Lazare
-- The Bible Unearthed: The Making of a Religion, directed by Thierry Ragobert
-- The Invention of Ancient Israel: The Silencing of Palestinian History, by Keith W. Whitelam
-- The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine
-- Letting Go of God, by Julia Sweeney
-- The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
-- Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter

Oded Golan (Hebrew: עודד גולן) (born 1951 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli engineer, entrepreneur, and antiquities collector. He owns one of the largest collections of Biblical archaeology in the world.[1]

Golan was accused by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) of involvement in the forgery of one half of the James Ossuary inscription, the Jehoash Inscription and other items. Golan denied any involvement in forgery, and argued that he purchased the two items from licensed antiquities dealers in 1976 and 1999 respectively.[2]

Four other defendants were indicted along with Golan, including two of the largest antiquities dealers in Israel. In 2012, the court acquitted Golan of forgery and fraud, but convicted him of illegal trading in antiquities. [3] In late 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the State to return to Golan the James Ossuary, the Jehoash Inscription and hundreds of other items that had been confiscated by the IAA “for the purpose of investigation."[4]

Background

The son of an engineer and a professor of microbiology, Golan served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces before studying industrial and management engineering at the Technion, graduating with honors.

He was then involved with several hi-tech ventures, developed and operated global professional training seminars and tour programs, and subsequently went on to be involved in real estate development in Israel. Since childhood, Golan has had a keen interest in archeology and antiquities. At the age of 10, during a visit to the ancient site of Tel Hatzor, he discovered the world’s oldest dictionary, which was later published by Professor Yigael Yadin. At the age of 12, Golan participated in excavations at Masada.[5]

Golan's Collection

Golan's collection, amassed over a period of more than 50 years, contains thousands of archaeological artifacts, the vast majority of which were purchased from antiquities dealers, mostly in East Jerusalem.[6]

Golan’s collection includes a wide range of artifacts which together represent the culture of Israel and TransJordan from the fifth millennium BCE to the fifth century AD.[7] Among the items that attracted international attention is the James Ossuary, the bone box possibly used to intern the bones of James, brother of Jesus.

IAA claims and trial

Following statements made by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in June 2003 challenging the authenticity of the inscriptions or the patina on the inscriptions of the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Tablet, the IAA confiscated both items from Golan, along with hundreds of other items of antiquity, allegedly for the purposes of the investigation.

The IAA publicly stated that Golan and numerous antiquity dealers were involved in forgery, assisted by experts in ancient Semitic languages, and cautioned that according to IAA policy all items discovered outside official excavations should be suspected as being forged. Media coverage and documentary films which reported the IAA claims were accompanied by rumors, creating what Golan called a “media circus".[8]

The BBC reported that when the police took Oded Golan into custody and searched his apartment they discovered a workshop with a range of tools, materials, and half finished 'antiquities'. This was presented as evidence for an operation on a great scale. According to other allegations, collectors around the world have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for artifacts that came through Oded Golan's associates. Dozens of these items were examined. Police then suspected that artefacts made by the same team of forgers have found their way into leading museums around the world.[9]

The documentary film The History Merchants alleged Golan (working with a team of people, including an expert in ancient semitic languages and an artisan) had produced a number of forged artifacts for sale on the religious antiquities market. In 2004, Horizon aired King Solomon's Tablet of Stone on the BBC. This program included allegations of forgery and fraudulent activity by Golan.[10]

King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone
directed by Sean Smith
Producer: Lara Acaster
Narrator: Jack Fortune
Horizon wishes to thank Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, Ma ariv Newspaper, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, English Edition, The City of David Visitors Center
by BBC Science & Nature
February 5, 2015

King Solomon's Tablet of Stone
by BBC Science & Nature
October 1, 2014

The authenticity of many Holy Land artefacts is thrown into doubt.



2001. A clandestine meeting of leading Israeli archaeologists are shown a remarkable artefact. It's a stone tablet, apparently from 1,000BC. The writing on its face describes repairs to the temple of King Solomon. It is the first archaeological evidence ever found of this legendary building.

The relic caused a sensation. But this was only just the start.

For authentification, the tablet was taken to the Geological Survey of Israel. Here, after a battery of tests, including radiocarbon dating, scientists officially pronounced the stone to be genuine. The tests even revealed microscopic particles of gold in the outer layer of stone. These were apparently the result of the tablet surviving the fire which, according to the bible, destroyed the temple when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem in 586BC.

The stone tablet was offered for sale to the Israel Museum, home to many of Israel's greatest treasures. Rumours suggested the asking price was as high as $10million.

Suspicions aroused

But the museum needed to know where the stone had come from. Even its owner was a mystery. To make matters more complex, the stone itself had disappeared again. The Israeli Antiquities Authority wanted answers. A nine month search for the mysterious stranger who had first appeared with the stone eventually led them to a private detective who had been hired by a well known antiquities collector, Oded Golan.

Golan insisted he too was just a front man for another collector. But the authorities were suspicious. He was known to be the owner of the James Ossuary, another extraordinary artefact which had appeared a couple of years earlier. This was a burial box with an inscription linking it to Jesus' brother.

The authorities raided Golan's apartment and recovered both the ossuary and the elusive stone. It was time to establish once and for all if both were genuine. So they set up a committee of linguists and scientists to examine them.

Looking at the stone, several linguists said 'fake'. Some of the Hebrew, they claimed, was not ancient. Other experts claimed that so little is known of ancient Hebrew that it's impossible to be sure.

The geological evidence

The committee turned to geology. Dr Yuval Goren, a geo-archaeologist and head of the Archaeological Institute at Tel-Aviv University, soon found evidence that a team of sophisticated forgers had led the earlier experts astray.

• The patina on the stone had in fact been manufactured artificially
• The charcoal particles which produced the convincing radiocarbon date had been added by hand
• The gold fragments hinting at an ancient fire were a clever final addition

The authorities presented their conclusions. They announced that the stone tablet, and the James Ossuary, were elaborate fakes.

But who was producing these fakes and how? Dr Goren decided to piece together how the stone tablet had been made. He tracked the origin of the stone itself - apparently a building block taken from a Crusader castle. It was even possible to work out how the fake patina had been manufactured and the ingredients used. What was clear was the team of forgers included experts in a range of disciplines.

More fakes suspected

When the police took Oded Golan into custody and searched his apartment they discovered a workshop with a range of tools, materials, and half finished 'antiquities'. This was evidence for an operation of a scale far greater than they had suspected.

Investigators have established that collectors around the world have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for artefacts that came through Oded Golan's associates. Dozens of these items have now been examined by Dr Goren, and all have been revealed to be forgeries. Police now suspect that artefacts made by the same team of forgers have found their way into leading museums around the world.

Some archaeologists have now concluded that everything that came to market in the last 20 years without clear provenance should be considered a fake. Many of these objects, like the stone tablet which started the investigation, were cynically playing on the desire of many of the collectors to see the bible confirmed as history. For those in search of the temple of Solomon - their goal is as far away as ever.

On December 29, 2004, Golan was indicted in an Israeli court along with three antiquities dealers; Robert Deutsch, one of Israel’s most important licensed antiquities dealer and an inscriptions expert who has lectured at the University of Haifa; dealer and conservator Refael Braun; and dealer Shlomo Cohen; Faiz al-Amla, a Palestinian dealer from the village of Beit Ula in the Hebron Hills was charged with trading in antiquities without a license. Early in the trial, charges were dropped against Braun and Cohen,[11] leaving Golan and Deutsch as the only defendants.

Golan denied any involvement in forgery and argued that he had purchased the inscriptions from licensed antiquities dealers. In the trial, Golan presented evidence that proved that he had purchased the James Ossuary in 1976 and the Jehoash Table in 1999.[12][13][14] Golan stated that to the best of his understanding and judgment, these are authentic ancient inscriptions.

Court ruling and acquittal

In a trial that lasted almost eight years (2004-2012), the District Court of Jerusalem heard testimony relating to the authenticity of the inscriptions on the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Tablet from over 50 experts from a wide range of fields, who examined the inscriptions and submitted dozens of scientific reports, and 70 other witnesses including antiquities dealers and well-known collectors. Trial transcripts covered over 12,000 pages, and the court ruling was 438 pages long.[15]

Trial aftermath

The IAA announced that they accept the court’s ruling.[16] The State accepted the main decision of the District Court and did not appeal against the judgment. After the judgment, the State moved to confiscate the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Tablet for the State Treasury, arguing that these items may well be of enormous historic, religious and archeological significance and therefore should not remain in private hands. The District Court and the Supreme Court denied this motion and ordered the State to return to Golan all the antiquities that had been taken from him. The James Ossuary and the Jehoash Tablet, as well as hundreds of other antiquities, were returned to Golan in late 2013.[17][18]

Further reading

Nina Burleigh, (2008): Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed and Forgery in the Holy Land

See also

• Three shekel ostracon

Three shekel ostracon
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/22/22

The three shekel ostracon is a pottery fragment bearing a forged text supposedly dating from between the 7th and 9th century BCE.[1] It is 8.6 centimeters high and 10.9 centimeters wide and contains five lines of ancient Hebrew writing.[2] The inscription mentions a king named Ashyahu [x]) donating three shekels (about 20–50 grams of silver) to the House of Yahweh. No king named Ashyahu is mentioned in the Bible, but some scholars believe it may refer to Jehoash ([x]), who ruled Judea 802–787 BCE.[3]

The ostracon was purchased by Shlomo Moussaieff from the Jerusalem antiquities dealer Oded Golan. Doubts about the authenticity of this and other artefacts sold by Golan began to be expressed in the late 1990s, and in 2003 Professor Christopher Rollston, a leading authority on Northwest Semitic inscriptions, said he is "confident beyond a reasonable doubt" that the "three shekel ostracon" is a forgery.[4] The same negative conclusion was reached on the basis of scientific examination of the patina.[5]

Text

‎
According to your order, Ashyahu the king, to give by the hand of [Z]ekaryahu silver of Tarshish for the House of Yahweh three shekels.[6][2]

See also

• House of Yahweh ostracon

References

1. John Noble Wilford Published: November 11, 1997 (1997-11-11). "Temple Receipt for a 3-Shekel Donor - New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
2. Jump up to:a b "Byt Yhwh Ostracon". Kchanson.com. 2007-04-18. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
3. Stieglitz, Robert. "Ashyahu: He's Josiah | The BAS Library". Members.bib-arch.org. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
4. "The Moussaieff Ostraca, Bibliographic Notes". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
5. Yuval Goren, Miryam Bar-Matthews, Avner Ayalon and Bettina Schilman (2005). "Authenticity Examination of Two Iron Age Ostraca from the Moussaieff Collection". Israel Exploration Journal. 55 (1): 21–34.
6. Translation according to Shanks, Hershel: "Three Shekels for the Lord. Ancient Inscription Records Gift to Solomon's Temple Archived 2019-01-16 at the Wayback Machine." Biblical Archaeology Review 23.6 (Nov/Dec 1997) 28-32.

Notes

1. Books written on the subject included: ‘The Brother of Jesus’ by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington, ‘Resurrecting the Brother of Jesus’, edited by Byrne & Mcnary-zak, ‘The Jesus Family Tomb’ by Jacobovici and Pellegrino, and ‘The Jehoash Tablet: King Jehoash and the Mystery of the Temple of Solomon Inscription’ by By Prof. Victor Sasson. Films created for Discovery on the subject included ‘James, Brother of Jesus’ (2003), ‘The Jesus Discovery/The Resurrection Tomb Mystery’ (2012), and ‘The Lost Tomb of Jesus’ (2007).

References

1. Hasson, Nir (2012-03-30). "Israeli Antiquities Collector Talks About His Trial – and His Acquittal". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
2. "Oded Golan: I never faked any antiquity". jpost.com. June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
4. Hasson, Nir (2013-10-17). "Ending a 7-year Saga Court: Israel Must Return Biblical-era 'Jehoash's Tablet' to Owner". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
5. Kalman, Matthew (8 April 2012). "Why I believe this box contains Jesus's brother". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
6. Section 1211, p.411, http://www.news1.co.il/uploadFiles/485637843608857.doc
7. Hasson, Nir (2012-03-30). "Israeli Antiquities Collector Talks About His Trial – and His Acquittal". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
8. Randall, Michael. "The Bible and Interpretation". http://www.bibleinterp.com. Original design: Andreas Viklund. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
9. "BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon". Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
10. "King Solomon's Tablet of Stone". Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
11. Thomas D. Bazley (2010). Crimes of the Art World. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-313-36047-3.
12. Sections 231-48 and 555-64, p.95-102 and 183-8, http://www.news1.co.il/uploadFiles/485637843608857.doc Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
13. "Forged in faith". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
15. P.12, http://www.news1.co.il/uploadFiles/485637843608857.doc
16. "Israel Antiquities Authority". http://www.antiquities.org.il. Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
17. חסון, ניר (2013-10-17). "סוף לסאגת לוח יהואש: העליון הורה למדינה להשיבו לאספן עודד גולן" [End to the saga of the Jehoash Tablet: The Supreme Court ordered the state to return it to collector Oded Golan]. הארץ (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
18. "Israel Antiquities Authority Returns "Jesus Brother" Bone Box to Owner - Biblical Archaeology Society". Biblical Archaeology Society. 11 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-03-29.

External links

• Alleged forger of Holy Land antiquities held 23/07/2003, Haaretz,
• "Written in Stone," David Samuels, A Reporter at Large, The New Yorker, April 12, 2004, p. 48
• Oded Golan's refutation of the documentary's claims
• Review of The History Merchants
• UK Daily Telegraph investigative article (May 2005)
• The art of authentic forgery by Nadav Shragai, 14/04/2008 Haaretz,
• King Solomon's Tablet of Stone
• The Authenticity of the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Tablet Inscriptions – Summary of Expert Trial Witnesses, Oded Golan (2011)

[admin]

Part 1 of 4

Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal
Created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier
Research and Script by Natan Odenheimer
Narrated by Natan Odenheimer
Times of Israel
Jul 22, 2022

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

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-- Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal, created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier
-- King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone, directed by Sean Smith
-- Oded Golan, by Wikipedia
-- False Testament: Archaeology Refutes the Bible's Claim to History, by Daniel Lazare
-- The Bible Unearthed: The Making of a Religion, directed by Thierry Ragobert
-- The Invention of Ancient Israel: The Silencing of Palestinian History, by Keith W. Whitelam
-- The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine
-- Letting Go of God, by Julia Sweeney
-- The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
-- Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter

Highlights:

This man comes to me one day, he's an antiquities dealer. And this guy tells me he's got this find. His story was that he got it from a Palestinian antiquities dealer in East Jerusalem. He tells me, "It's one of the most important finds for the State of Israel." It's a stone, inscribed with specifications for renovating the Holy Temple. And if that's true, if it's authentic, it could be one of the greatest archaeological finds ever. He asked me to take the stone, and my mission was to go around and show it to whoever it needed to be shown to, and then disappear with it immediately so no one would know it existed until it got some sort of seal of authenticity....

It had an inscription that mentions historical figures that every child knows from reading the Bible...

Not only does it mention King Jehoash from the Bible, it also details constructions and renovations in the Holy Temple. If true, it's the only physical proof for the existence of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, and supports the Jewish claim for the most contested hilltop in the Middle East....

The ossuary, a small stone bone box with an inscription that reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," attracted top experts from all over the world who came to observe the item up close in disbelief. Some experts were excited, even suggesting that the ossuary may hold specks of Jesus's DNA....

It's done beautifully. If it's forged, it's by a genius....

The people that got really riled up were the then-heads of the Israel Antiquities Authority. And suddenly they were talking about fake....

You know, there is enough money to be made by everyone who is involved with antiquities that he doesn't need to make fakes. But some people are too greedy....

There's a very, very sophisticated manipulation here that someone carried out today, to create an artifact that is ostensibly ancient, and ultimately make a lot of money from it....

Coincidentally, both investigations led to one man....

His name is Oded Golan....

"I bought the ossuary when I was a university student at the Technion from an antiquities dealer in Silwan... [A]lmost all the Jameses in the world are named after him, from James Bond to James Baker, to many other people, of course, with that name.... The stone itself had been in an antiquities dealer's shop for a very long time.... And the IAA wasn't even interested! It didn't set off a warning bell, let alone an alarm, or anything like that."...

How much did you pay for it? Are you free to say?

"First of all, I'm not at liberty to say."...

Even the Israel Museum got involved in some sort of negotiation to buy one of these artifacts.

Front-page news around the world. And the IAA wasn't part of it, right? ... And they didn't even know what was happening. So, one way to look at it, was that the reason they got so aggressive with Oded Golan, and on the whole issue, was because they were embarrassed. They're supposed to be the experts. Nobody kept them in the loop...

"[H]ow is it that the State of Israel's most important items are exported to an exhibition abroad, and these items weren't even found in an official archaeological excavation? And that frustration later turned into a desire to confiscate these items, and seize them from me without any compensation."...

[O]nly after searching his parents' home did they find the ossuary. The Jehoash Inscription was nowhere to be found. Under pressure, Golan agreed to bring in the inscription for examination, hoping he wouldn't be charged with any crime in return. ...

The Materials Committee determined quite clearly, based on scientific parameters, that the Jehoash Inscription was forged. When it came to the ossuary, there was a question as to whether part of the inscription was authentically ancient, and another part was added later on....

"And what they wanted, in effect, was to take the important items from me."...

In my opinion, this is just the tip of the iceberg. No one -- listen carefully to what I say -- has contradicted the findings of the committees to this date, not in this country, or anywhere else. The Jehoash Inscription was offered to the Israel Museum for $4 million. And it's nothing more than a stone....Indiana Jones pales by comparison....

The prosecution claimed that together with top-tier dealers, including the former chief renovator of the Israel Museum, Golan had led an international network of forgers for over 20 years....

And they came up with pseudo-scholarly things, "Look, you know, it doesn't look right. It's a dot. No, it's a scratch."...

Soon, a trial that had started as a criminal investigation unfolded into an academic symposium, with over 120 witnesses, many of whom were world-renowned geologists, archaeologists, chemists, geochemists, linguists, epigraphers, polygraphers, Bible experts, as well as the former head of one of the FBI's forensic labs. ...

If they appeared as exhibits in a court case, and experts renowned throughout the world, some of them said they were genuine, and some said they were fake, then they are good forgeries. If they are forgeries, then they are good forgeries....

There's no dispute: This was the work of consummate artists....

The experts disagree....

Ultimately, the judge said, "Look, my dear friends from the academia, I'm a judge, I know how to judge by evidence. I can't determine for scientists whether their scientific conclusions are correct or not."...

Over time, I learned that this world of archaeological excavations and findings is a world full of what we like to call "monkey business."...

Ten years on, the institutional conviction is that both items were at least partially forged.

-- Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal, Created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

Does a private individual hold two of the most important archeological items ever discovered in Israel? In 2002, antiquities collector Oded Golan was accused of forging two items of the highest importance: the ossuary of James, brother of Jesus, and the Jehoash Inscription - the only physical proof of Solomon’s Temple. Twenty years on, after repeated expert examination, it’s still unclear if these items are authentic or fake.

In this second episode of The Times of Israel’s new, original ‘Into the Land’ docuseries, we explore the international controversy behind this alleged archeological forgery -- and the uncertainty and interests that appear inherent to historical verification.



Transcript



[Tzaki Tzuriel, Private Investigator hired by antiquities collector Oded Golan.] This man comes to me one day, he's an antiquities dealer. And this guy tells me he's got this find.



His story was that he got it from a Palestinian antiquities dealer in East Jerusalem.



He tells me, "It's one of the most important finds for the State of Israel." It's a stone, inscribed with specifications for renovating the Holy Temple. And if that's true, if it's authentic, it could be one of the greatest archaeological finds ever.



He asked me to take the stone, and my mission was to go around and show it to whoever it needed to be shown to, and then disappear with it immediately so no one would know it existed until it got some sort of seal of authenticity. One day, I'm sitting in my office, I hear a knock on my door, "Hello, we're from the Israel Antiquities Authority." And they ask me, "Do you know Oded Golan?" I said yes. They took out a camera like this one, and started questioning me. I know that later on Oded Golan was put on trial. Truth is, I'd love to hear where this stone is, what happened to it, and is it really authentic?

NARRATOR: For millions of people of different faiths the authentification of the Stone Tablet was a fantastic affirmation of their belief. Here was a genuine archaeological find that correlated almost word for word with a biblical episode that happened nearly 3,000 years ago. But for the stone itself, the next stage was to find a fitting home. And one place seemed ideal: the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This remarkable museum is home to a stunning collection of biblical antiquities. They have the Dead Sea Scrolls, the most important biblical manuscripts in existence. They also have Israel's only other royal inscription from close to the time of Solomon -- The 'House of David' Stele. This is the only reference to Solomon's father, David, that exists outside the bible. The Stone would be a fitting companion for these priceless artefacts.

JAMES SNYDER: We would of course be interested in acquiring something if we felt that it would help to amplify the story which our museum is meant to tell, and our story is the story of biblical archaeology in the ancient Holy Land, so if something were to surface of great significance for the full telling of that story we would be interested.

NARRATOR: With its authenticity confirmed the stone was offered for sale to the Israel Museum. The price was rumoured to be high.

BOAZ GAON: There was a series of meetings with the Israel Museum, initial negotiations going on between the two parties, all sorts of sums are thrown around. It's difficult to know exactly what the sum was at that point -- some people say three million, some people say four million, some people say ten million.

NARRATOR: But before the museum would part with several million dollars, it wanted to know just one more thing -- where exactly had the stone been found? The Bible said that Solomon's temple had been situated on Jerusalem's temple mount. So the stone must have come from there originally.

JAMES SNYDER: If an object is excavated then you have a much simpler time verifying its authenticity because you are taking it from its source of excavation.

NARRATOR: However, there are no official excavations on the Temple Mount -- because it is home to one of Islam's holiest shrines, the Dome of the Rock. The whole area is politically far too sensitive for archaeology. Still, rumours said the stone had been found in rubble left from recent illegal building projects being carried out on the Temple Mount. But James Snyder needed more than rumour. He wanted the full story of the stone after it had been found.

JAMES SNYDER: You want to be able to track the history of the object from the time of its excavation, if it is possible to do so, through its history of ownership until it comes to you.

NARRATOR: It was then that the saga of the stone became very mysterious indeed. Just when the museum wanted to do their own checks, both the private investigator who had first revealed it -- and the stone -- disappeared.

NARRATOR: So Amir Ganor an investigator with the Israeli Antiquities Authority was called in. For nine months he searched for the man who had first taken the stone to the Jerusalem hotel.

AMIR GANOR: (VO translation): We travelled all over Israel from the north to the south. That detective was a very wily person, he left us very few clues. In the end we found him in an office in Ramat Gan and he told us that he'd been hired by Oded Golan.

NARRATOR: Oded Golan is a businessman and renowned collector, owner of Israel's largest private collection of antiquities. He explained that he wasn't the owner of the stone and that he didn't know where it was. He had just been involved as a middleman.

-- King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone, directed by Sean Smith

So what tipped off the investigators? "We got some information in September 2002 about a stone with an inscription about the third temple of Joash in Jerusalem," says Amir Ganor, head of investigations at the IAA. "This stone would be very important to the Jewish people and to the antiquities community." At that point the investigators were looking for a rumoured relic, not a forgery. Informers said that it had been offered to several institutions, including the Israel museum. "We heard that some guy, ex-Shin Bet [the Israeli security service], had been showing the stone, but we didn't know anything more," says Ganor.

The IAA eventually discovered the identity of the former security service man (How? "Using our methods," says Ganor), who in turn led them to Oded Golan, a leading Israeli collector and one of the five men alleged by the IAA to be part of the forgery ring. Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper describes Golan as a 51-year-old production engineer, based in Tel Aviv, who has worked in engineering, tourism, real estate, and who now describes himself as the "head of a of a hi-tech company". He told the IAA that he collects antiquities as a hobby, and has been doing so since the age of 14. A search of Golan's home took place in February 2003. "We found a lot of documents about the stone, and pictures, but not the stone itself," says Ganor. "Oded said that he was not the owner, but was representing some Arab guy." One month later, threatened with another search warrant for another of his premises, Golan handed over the stone.

-- Israel Faking it: The discovery that ancient artefacts sacred to Jewish history are forgeries has sent shockwaves through the museum world. But was the gang behind the scam only interested in cash, or did they have other motives?, by Rachel Shabi

The Times of Israel
Is the James Ossuary for Real?
by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

***

Court: Israel Can't hold Jehoash tablet
by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

***

Dealer is fined for illegal trading
by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

***

Antiquities fraud case continues in court
by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

***

Surprising end to antiquities case
by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

The Times of Israel presents an original docuseries

Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal

[Narrator] Twenty years ago, two seemingly unrelated archaeological finds surfaced in Israel. Both items were of unprecedented importance. That was the starting point to what turned into the biggest archaeology-related scandal in the history of the country.



[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] I documented it before the world knew about it.



I got this scoop, I brought the tools of an investigative journalist, you know, how do we know it's not forged? And then I saw the difference between what was really happening, and how it was being manipulated and reported.





[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] There were reports about an artifact circulating among collectors in the antiquities market, about how it was of great significance, because it had an inscription that mentions historical figures that every child knows from reading the Bible.

2002

Item 01

The Jehoash Inscription

[Narrator] The first of the two items, known as The Jehoash Inscription, is an ancient Hebrew tablet, made of heavy dark stone.

[ I]t's nothing more than a stone. I suggest you follow this affair as it plays out in court.It's going to be very special. Indiana Jones pales by comparison. -- Yehoshua (Shuka) Dorfman, Head of the IAA, 2000-2014

Not only does it mention King Jehoash from the Bible, it also details constructions and renovations in the Holy Temple.





If true, it's the only physical proof for the existence of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, and supports the Jewish claim for the most contested hilltop in the Middle East.

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] Is it authentic? Is it really from 2,000 years ago? That's one story. The second story, which miraculously unfolded at the exact same time ...



[Lenny Wolfe, Antiquities Dealer] I heard about it from one of the dealers that said to me, "there's an ossuary on the marketplace."

[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] And I said, "What's an ossuary?"



And he said, "It's a bone box, and on it it says, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."



Front page news around the world, the first concrete, carved in stone proof that Jesus even existed.

Item 02

The James Ossuary

Biblical Archaeology Review
World Exclusive!
The Ossuary of Jesus' Brother James
Spectacular Find in Jerusalem

[Narrator] The news made headlines around the world, and shortly after, the ossuary was displayed as a centerpiece in a blockbuster exhibition at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum. The ossuary, a small stone bone box with an inscription that reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," attracted top experts from all over the world who came to observe the item up close in disbelief.



Some experts were excited, even suggesting that the ossuary may hold specks of Jesus's DNA. But others were skeptical, immediately raising questions about its authenticity.



[Expert] It's done beautifully. If it's forged, it's by a genius.



[Robert Hager, NBC News] Could the box, just now coming to public attention, really have once held the bones of that James?

[admin]

Part 2 of 4

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] Did we really discover the real tomb? Of course, this aroused great interest.

[Narrator] And there were those who were not just skeptical, but downright upset.

[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] The people that got really riled up were the then-heads of the Israel Antiquities Authority.



And suddenly they were talking about fake.

[Narrator] The IAA manages all official archaeological excavations, and oversees the antiquities market. Some call them the police of archaeology, and generally speaking, they don't like to see archaeological items in the hands of private collectors.



[Lenny Wolfe, Antiquities Dealer] You know, there is enough money to be made by everyone who is involved with antiquities that he doesn't need to make fakes.



But some people are too greedy.



[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] There's a very, very sophisticated manipulation here that someone carried out today, to create an artifact that is ostensibly ancient, and ultimately make a lot of money from it. And that's when it becomes a police/criminal matter.

[Narrator] The magnitude of these items, together with their peculiar appearance, raised suspicions of illegal activities, which led the IAA to initiate two separate investigations: the first, to trace down the mysterious Jehoash Inscription, whose whereabouts were still unknown, and a second, to look into the origins of the ossuary.



Coincidentally, both investigations led to one man.



[Tzaki Tzuriel, Private Investigator hired by antiquities collector Oded Golan.] He's a quiet person, talks a lot through his nose. Seeing him on the street, you'd think he was a metalworker, or an electrician. His name is Oded Golan.





[Oded Golan, Private Collector] I started collecting antiques at a very young age, I think when I was about eight, something like that. I doubt there is anyone else in Israel, and when I say anyone, I'm talking about archaeologists who've been working in the profession for 30, 40 years, who has seen the things I've seen.



[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] Oded Golan, he's an authentic collector with a passion for the stuff that he buys.

Jiri Frel was a Czech and American archaeologist. Between 1973 and 1986 he served as a curator for the J. Paul Getty Museum. He is credited with the expansion of the collection of antiquities of the museum, but he was also involved in a number of controversies, including a tax manipulation scheme to buy artifacts of dubious provenance and purchase of a number of artifacts widely considered to be fake.

-- Jiri Frel [Jiri Frohlich], by Wikipedia

***

In 1982, [Marion] True joined The Getty as a curatorial assistant and later became a curator in 1986....

In 2005, True was indicted by the Italian government, along with renowned American antiquities dealer, Robert E. Hecht, for conspiracy to traffic in illicit antiquities. She was accused of participating in a conspiracy that laundered stolen objects through private collection in order to create a fake paper trail that would serve as the items' provenance.

-- Marion True, by Wikipedia

***

Robert Emmanuel Hecht, Jr. (3 June 1919 – 8 February 2012) was an American antiquities art dealer based in Paris... [He] was a naval officer during World War II, and after it spent a stint as interpreter at the War Crimes Investigation in Nuremberg ...

In 2005 Hecht was indicted by the Italian government, together with Marion True, the former curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, for conspiracy to traffic in illegal antiquities. The primary evidence in the case came from the 1995 raid of a Geneva, Switzerland warehouse which had contained a fortune in stolen artifacts.

Italian art dealer Giacomo Medici was eventually arrested in 1997; his operation was thought to be "one of the largest and most sophisticated antiquities networks in the world, responsible for illegally digging up and spiriting away thousands of top-drawer pieces and passing them on to the most elite end of the international art market". Medici was sentenced in 2004 by a Rome court to ten years in prison and a fine of 10 million euros, "the largest penalty ever meted out for antiquities crime in Italy".

-- Robert E. Hecht, by Wikipedia

[Lenny Wolfe, Antiquities Dealer] My initial impression of him was that he was a serious collector. I sold him some pieces.



[Oded Golan, Private Collector] I bought the ossuary when I was a university student at the Technion from an antiquities dealer in Silwan.

Silwan or Siloam is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, on the outskirts of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; in the latter it is the location of Jesus' healing the man blind from birth.

-- Silwan, by Wikipedia

It's a very simple ossuary. What intrigued me was that it had a Hebrew inscription. By the way, this is the ossuary, as you can imagine. You can move it to the stage if you want. Jacob, Diego in Spanish, and James in English.



In fact, almost all the Jameses in the world are named after him, from James Bond to James Baker, to many other people, of course, with that name.

[Item 01: The Jehoash Inscription. Men move the 2 boxes to a table] Yes, better that way, leave it with the gap. Great.



[Narrator] When you first saw this item, were you excited?

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] Very much. Very much. The stone itself had been in an antiquities dealer's shop for a very long time.



I asked to see the antiquities dealer's inventory report, and it turned out that in his inventory report, he noted that he had an inscribed stone, that's what he wrote, [Arabic] hajar maktub.



And the IAA wasn't even interested! It didn't set off a warning bell, let alone an alarm, or anything like that. So it was in his inventory.

[Narrator] How much did you pay for it? Are you free to say?



[Oded Golan, Private Collector] First of all, I'm not at liberty to say. But circumstances were much more complicated than the matter of how much I paid.

ODED GOLAN: Sometime during 1999 I was called by a very reliable Palestinian dealer that I knew for many many years who ask me to assist him in selling an inscription. It seemed to be very interesting and I was ready to assist him only under one condition, that it will be offered only within Israel and to a museum in Israel after they will authentisize it.

NARRATOR: Golan said that the owner hadn't wanted to be identified, which was why he'd hired a private detective. However, the owner had since died and his widow had the stone. But she was somewhere in the occupied territories and Golan didn't know how to contact her. But Oded Golan did reveal one vital piece of information -- where the stone had been discovered.

ODED GOLAN: It was found very near to the Eastern Wall in the Muslim cemetery in Old Jerusalem outside the Temple Mount.

NARRATOR: It was stunning news. Here was confirmation that the stone had been unearthed just yards from where the Bible said that Solomon's Temple had once stood.

-- King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone, directed by Sean Smith

So what tipped off the investigators? "We got some information in September 2002 about a stone with an inscription about the third temple of Joash in Jerusalem," says Amir Ganor, head of investigations at the IAA. "This stone would be very important to the Jewish people and to the antiquities community." At that point the investigators were looking for a rumoured relic, not a forgery. Informers said that it had been offered to several institutions, including the Israel museum. "We heard that some guy, ex-Shin Bet [the Israeli security service], had been showing the stone, but we didn't know anything more," says Ganor.

The IAA eventually discovered the identity of the former security service man (How? "Using our methods," says Ganor), who in turn led them to Oded Golan, a leading Israeli collector and one of the five men alleged by the IAA to be part of the forgery ring. Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper describes Golan as a 51-year-old production engineer, based in Tel Aviv, who has worked in engineering, tourism, real estate, and who now describes himself as the "head of a of a hi-tech company". He told the IAA that he collects antiquities as a hobby, and has been doing so since the age of 14. A search of Golan's home took place in February 2003. "We found a lot of documents about the stone, and pictures, but not the stone itself," says Ganor. "Oded said that he was not the owner, but was representing some Arab guy." One month later, threatened with another search warrant for another of his premises, Golan handed over the stone.

-- Israel Faking it: The discovery that ancient artefacts sacred to Jewish history are forgeries has sent shockwaves through the museum world. But was the gang behind the scam only interested in cash, or did they have other motives?, by Rachel Shabi

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] These two artifacts were eventually shown to the public. They were photographed, displayed.



Even the Israel Museum got involved in some sort of negotiation to buy one of these artifacts.

[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] Front-page news around the world. And the IAA wasn't part of it, right? People ask, so what do you think?



And they didn't even know what was happening. So, one way to look at it, was that the reason they got so aggressive with Oded Golan, and on the whole issue, was because they were embarrassed. They're supposed to be the experts. Nobody kept them in the loop.



[Oded Golan, Private Collector] Especially when they were asked, how is it that the State of Israel's most important items are exported to an exhibition abroad, and these items weren't even found in an official archaeological excavation?

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] In the IAA, there's an Antiquities Robbery Prevention Unit that, among other things, oversees the antiquities market and private collectors.



[Oded Golan, Private Collector] And that frustration later turned into a desire to confiscate these items, and seize them from me without any compensation.

[admin]

Part 3 of 4

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] The IAA wasn't sure what to do. It could have said, there's something suspicious here, we advise against treating these items as authentic artifacts, and leave it at that.

[Narrator] Instead, the IAA and Israeli police raided Golan's home, office and storage unit, confiscating hundreds of items.



But only after searching his parents' home did they find the ossuary. The Jehoash Inscription was nowhere to be found.



Under pressure, Golan agreed to bring in the inscription for examination, hoping he wouldn't be charged with any crime in return. It didn't end there.

When police searched Golan's apartment they found a hidden workshop filled with tools and half made artefacts.

There was this large dark stone -- very like the stone used for the Temple of Solomon Inscription. Then there were these tools, including a drill and drill bits. And there were also boxes of soil that could be used in a fake patina. But what was most suspicious were the artefacts. Some were in the early stages of preparation, like this casting for a bronze statue. And some appeared finished, like these royal seals, or bullae.

-- King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone, directed by Sean Smith

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority] Mainly because of the vast public interest in Israel and worldwide, the IAA director at the time eventually decided to set up two professional expert committees.

[Narrator] The first committee was made up of natural scientists, and tested the material aspects of the items. The second committee, spearheaded by Professor Avni, was populated by scholars of ancient languages and script.





[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Head of the IAA's Content & Writing Committee] And this led to a long and complex scientific testing process. The Materials Committee determined quite clearly, based on scientific parameters, that the Jehoash Inscription was forged.



When it came to the ossuary, there was a question as to whether part of the inscription was authentically ancient, and another part was added later on. And there were several disagreements on that. The Content and Writing Committee failed to reach an unequivocal conclusion.

[Librarian's Comment: Contrast increased to show how the word "Ashoka" was added to the end of the first line in a rough-uneven area that the original writer was careful to avoid with respect to the entirety of the remaining inscription, that has all been rendered on the flattest-available portions of the rock face. If stones could speak, this one would cry "foul!"]



Maski is a town and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. Maski derives its name from Mahasangha or Masangi. The site came into prominence with the discovery of a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915. It was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name Ashoka in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as Devanampiye piyadasi. This edict was important to conclude that many edicts found earlier in the Indian sub-continent in the name of Devanampiye piyadasi, all belonged to Emperor Ashoka....

The Maski version of Minor Rock Edict No.1 was historically especially important in that it confirmed the association of the title "Devanampriya" ("Beloved-of-the-Gods") with Ashoka:

[A proclamation] of Devanampriya Asoka.
Two and a half years [and somewhat more] (have passed) since I am a Buddha-Sakya.
[A year and] somewhat more (has passed) [since] I have visited the Samgha and have shown zeal.
Those gods who formerly had been unmingled (with men) in Jambudvipa, have how become mingled (with them).
This object can be reached even by a lowly (person) who is devoted to morality.
One must not think thus, — (viz.) that only an exalted (person) may reach this.
Both the lowly and the exalted must be told: "If you act thus, this matter (will be) prosperous and of long duration, and will thus progress to one and a half.

— Maski Minor Rock Edict of Ashoka.

-- Maski, by Wikipedia

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] That was the breaking point on this matter. The court ruled that they must give me back all the items unless they file a lawsuit against me by a certain date. And that's essentially what pushed the State of Israel, or the IAA, to file an indictment on a certain date. For if they hadn't filed an indictment, they would have had to return all the items back to me.



And what they wanted, in effect, was to take the important items from me.



[Yehoshua (Shuka) Dorfman, Head of the IAA, 2000-2014] In my opinion, this is just the tip of the iceberg.



No one -- listen carefully to what I say -- has contradicted the findings of the committees to this date, not in this country, or anywhere else. The Jehoash Inscription was offered to the Israel Museum for $4 million.



And it's nothing more than a stone. I suggest you follow this affair as it plays out in court.



It's going to be very special. Indiana Jones pales by comparison.

[Indiana Jones] One of the great dangers of archaeology -- not to life and limb, although that does sometimes take place -- no, I'm talking about folklore. Any questions, then?

-- Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Head of the IAA's Content & Writing Committee] It's one of the more interesting cases, because the judge was required to rule on a matter of an academic and scientific nature.

[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] They said they had smoking guns. They went not just after Oded Golan, but after a whole bunch of people.



[Narrator] And so began the first and only forgery trial in Israel.





The prosecution claimed that together with top-tier dealers, including the former chief renovator of the Israel Museum, Golan had led an international network of forgers for over 20 years. As the trial unfolded, evidence to support this conspiracy theory fizzled out, so instead, the prosecution focused on proving the inscription and the ossuary had been forged.

[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] You know, the "anti" forces said the ossuary is real. The first part of the inscription is real: Jacob, son of Joseph. But this crafty collector added the words, "Achui de Yeshua', the brother of Jesus.



And they came up with pseudo-scholarly things, "Look, you know, it doesn't look right.



It's a dot. No, it's a scratch."

In addition to his excavation activities, Luigi Pernier was also employed in Florence as an antiques inspector. His jurisdiction included the city's archaeological museum. Finds from the Etruscan period have pride of place in the collection here. The Etruscans were among the most powerful people around the Mediterranean. Paola Rendini is a specialist in a Etruscan script. In the magazine, Dr. Rendini and the museum director study one of the most valuable items, the Magliano Disc. It represents one of the most important examples of Etruscan script. Today, the 70 words can be read, while in the days of Luigi Pernier this was not possible. At eight centimeters in diameter, it is half the size of the Phaistos Disc. The words and sentence sections are separated by dots, while on the Phaistos Disc, vertical lines are used.

[url=x]-- Was Europe's First Advanced Civilization Faked? The Secret of the Phaistos Code, A Film by Michael Gregor[/url]

Diamonds and squares with dots and dashes ― French archaeologists came across these geometric characters as early as 1903 when they were excavating ancient ruins in the city of Susa in southwestern Iran. Researchers quickly realized that the language was one of the four oldest scripts known to humankind, along with Mesopotamian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Indus script. The Elamite civilization used the writing system during the Bronze Age in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. The characters were given the name "Linear Elamite."

-- Mysterious ancient script finally deciphered?, by Katrin Ewert. dw.com

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] By the way, it makes no sense to forge a long inscription such as the Jehoash Inscription, because the longer the inscription, the higher the chance of catching the so-called "forger" in some blunder. There is no practical way to forge elements found on this specific inscription.

[Narrator] Golan's claim here refers to the patina: a thin layer that forms on stone and metal over time. Some experts argued that Golan had fabricated the patina, so as to fake the items' antiquity. However, there were other experts, including one of the founders of geomircrobiology, Professor Wolfgang E. Krumbein, who testified in court, asserting the patina is authentic.

Addendum: Final blow or just a blow?

Avner Ayalon* and Yuval Goren**

* Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel.
** Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

Recently, geologist James A. Harrell reviewed (in the non-peer reviewed BAR) our analytical results concerning the James Ossuary under the flaunting heading: "Final blow to IAA report: flawed geochemistry used to condemn James inscription."[36] Despite this dramatic heading that was presumably put there by the editors, Harrell's "final blow" to our conclusions is that the patina covering the inscription on the James Ossuary was either faked or recreated by cleaning. Harrell's arguments for the "flawed geochemistry" seem to be as strong as the final conclusion of his commentary. In what follows, we address them in short:

1. "Both scientists specifically point out that their statements are not final reports and that they will publish their complete findings later in a professional journal."

Harrell refers in his article to the abstract published by the IAA in the June 2003 press conference. Harrell never bothered to contact any of us for the data nor for clarifying some misunderstandings that he seemingly had. We assume that Harrell knows that it takes some time for a scientific article to be refereed and accepted for publication in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal. Still, between the press conference (June 2003) and now, our scientific paper was accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science.[37] Harrell could easily have asked for a pre-print of the article and received it (as did the BAR managing editor per his request).

2. "Ayalon assumed (but did not demonstrate) that calcite is the primary, if not the only, mineral on both the ancient patina and the inscription coating."

Based on EDS analyses, the "letters' patina" as well as the "non-inscriptional parts" are composed of CaCO3.

3. "For Ayalon's hot-water scheme to work, the limestone would have to be dissolved in a hot acid-water solution and then the calcite crystallized by evaporating the solution. However, a coating made this way would have an acid residue and so give away its origin. To test for this possibility, the inscription coating needs to be chemically analyzed, but this has not yet been done."

(a) The calcite could have precipitated directly from the hot water itself (the same as the "cattle-stone" precipitates). There is no need to dissolve ground calcite.

(b) The acid involved in patina formation in nature is carbonic acid (H2CO3) formed as rainwater passes through the coil and dissolves soil-CO2. Once this acid is used, heating the water will result in CO2-degassing and CaCO3 precipitation with no acid residue. This could have been done artificially by using the same acid and without leaving any trace for it.

4. "…the ancient patina is clearly not pure calcite — its brownish color must be due to either iron oxides, clay minerals, and/or organic matter, all of which contain oxygen. The inscription coating also may not be pure calcit."

Harrell is completely wrong. The ancient patina is made of CaCO3, the same as the inscription coating. Moreover, to liberate CO2 gas from the CaCO3 for mass-spectrometric analysis, we use dry phosphoric acid (H3PO4). In this reaction, iron oxides, clay minerals, and other silicate minerals, which may be present in very small amounts, do not react with the acid. Harrell, as a stable-isotope geochemist, should also know that in the mass-spectrometer we analyzed the isotopic composition of CO2 gas liberated in the reaction and NOT the isotopic composition of oxygen (O2) gas.

5. "Ayalon dismisses out of hand the one sample of inscription coating whose δ18O value fell within the range of the ancient patina…. Ayalon is showing his bias by not allowing for the other possibility: that the word Jesus (where the samples came from) is truly ancient. This, plus the fact that one member of the IAA committee observed traces of ancient patina in the "brother of Jesus" part of the inscription, provide two solid pieces of evidence supporting the inscription is antiquity."

Carried away with his arguments, Harrell forgot to mention that luckily we have analyzed three letters from the word "Yeshua" (Jesus). The δ18O of the patina sampled from the other letters was very negative, -10.2 permil (for the letter "Shin" of "Yeshua") and -7.7 permil (for the letter "Vav"). Only the last letter ("Ain") had a normal value; hence, our interpretation for this phenomenon is not the result of bias but the only logical possibility.

6. "For the moment, all we can say is that the oxygen isotope results are equally consistent with two possible interpretations:

1. The inscription is a modern forgery that was coated with faked patina; OR

2. The inscription is ancient but was cleaned in modern times with the coating produced either inadvertently as a result of cleaning or intentionally to disguise the cleaning."

Both options suggested by Harrell agree with our conclusion that the "letters' patina" was not formed under natural conditions that prevailed in the Jerusalem area in the last 2000 years. Therefore, the title of his article "flawed geochemistry used to condemn James inscription" is strange/puzzling, to say the least.

-- The Jerusalem Syndrome in Archaeology: Jehoash to James: Is it possible that over a century after Sir William Mathew Flinders-Petrie established the scientific methodology of biblical archaeology, the discipline is still controlled by dilatants [dilettantes] and charlatans?, by Yuval Goren

Soon, a trial that had started as a criminal investigation unfolded into an academic symposium, with over 120 witnesses, many of whom were world-renowned geologists, archaeologists, chemists, geochemists, linguists, epigraphers, polygraphers, Bible experts, as well as the former head of one of the FBI's forensic labs.

[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] Pick any item you want in the British Museum, or the Israel Museum, any item you want. There's less proof for its authenticity than there is for the James Ossuary.

[admin]

Part 4 of 4



[Lenny Wolfe, Antiquities Dealer & Witness in Forgery Trial] If they appeared as exhibits in a court case, and experts renowned throughout the world, some of them said they were genuine, and some said they were fake, then they are good forgeries. If they are forgeries, then they are good forgeries.



[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Head of the IAA's Content & Writing Committee] There's no dispute: This was the work of consummate artists.



[Narrator] After eight long years of trial, one thing was clear: The experts disagree.



[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Head of the IAA's Content & Writing Committee] Ultimately, the judge said, "Look, my dear friends from the academia, I'm a judge, I know how to judge by evidence. I can't determine for scientists whether their scientific conclusions are correct or not."



I would say that the ruling brought to light the problematic nature of this profession.

Art cases cause problems for the courts. The courts are not fans of having to decide art authenticity cases. So for a judge to come in and say, "I think this work is or is not authentic," has ramifications. And courts, they don't wanna make those ramifications. They don't want to be market makers. Particularly for something that they feel uncomfortable analyzing. -- William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City

-- Real Fake: The Art, Life and Crimes of Elmyr De Hory: Illustrated Screenplay and Screencap Gallery, directed by Jeff Oppenheim

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] Yes. Look, it's written nicely. It says, "Brother of Jesus Inscription is Authentic." You see, it's written well.

[Narrator] The prosecution failed to prove the items were forged, and lost the case. The IAA were legally forced to return the items to their rightful owner.



[Simcha Jacobovici, Journalist & Filmmaker] Listen, if you wake up in the morning, and you feel, "I've been in Jesus's real tomb," right?, and the world doesn't care, it's a weird feeling.

[Lenny Wolfe, Antiquities Dealer & Witness in Forgery Trial] When the forgery scandal broke, a scholar said to me, "We thought that you were involved, Lenny, that you were the one behind the forgeries.



But then we discussed it among ourselves, and we came to the conclusion that it couldn't possibly be you, Lenny, because you're not ordered enough."



[Oded Golan, Private Collector] The display cases have screens so I don't feel like I'm living in a museum 24/7. When I was going through the trial, they took all of the antiquities I had in my apartment.



Almost all of them, hundreds of antiquities. They took hundreds. I wanted to show you an item I found as a child, when I was ten.



This is the oldest dictionary ever found in the world. By then I had already compiled a rather interesting and comprehensive collection. It's an obsession, apparently. For me, it developed gradually. The experiences around the archaeological finds I had in my life were no less thrilling than the archaeological finds themselves.

[Narrator] You beat the State of Israel and the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Ultimately, the judge said, "Look, my dear friends from the academia, I'm a judge, I know how to judge by evidence. I can't determine for scientists whether their scientific conclusions are correct or not." I would say that the ruling brought to light the problematic nature of this profession. -- Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Head of the IAA's Content & Writing Committee

The art of authentic forgery
by Nadav Shragai
Haaretz
Last update - 23:08 14/04/2008

Tags: Fraud, Oded Golan, Israel

Criminal case 482/04, the State of Israel v. Oded Golan and others, lays out the details of one of the biggest forgery scandals ever in the history of archaeology. According to the indictment, those miseld by Golan, a well-known Tel Aviv antiquities collector, included renowned experts who were ready to confirm the authenticity of the many and controversial findings he supposedly discovered, such as the Jehoash Tablet inscription and an ossuary that supposedly held the bones of James, the brother of Jesus.

And yet, today, three years after the start of the trial, after more than 70 witnesses for the prosecution have taken the stand, and the defense has started to present its arguments, the state prosecutor's office and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which initiated the indictment, face a problem: Marco Samah Shoukri Ghatas, the Egyptian artist who confessed to manufacturing many items for Golan, including the Jehoash inscription, will not be coming to Israel to testify. According to the IAA, it is the Egyptian authorities that are preventing Ghatas from coming to Israel. Golan's attorney, Lior Bringer, on the other hand, counters that it was the Egyptian's choice not to come.

Either way, the prosecution believes it will win the case even without the testimony of Ghatas, a talented stone artist and jeweler from the Khan al-Khalili market in Cairo. The testimony submitted in an interrogation conducted by the Egyptians and in which he confessed to many of the crimes, has already been cited in the Jerusalem District Court, where the case is being heard by Judge Aharon Farkash. Nevertheless, says an IAA official, "we're very interested in bringing him to Israel, so that the man who by his own admission forged the antiquities for Golan, will say so formally in court."

Ghatas himself spoke openly about the artifacts he manufactured with reporter Bob Simon, on the CBS-TV news program "60 Minutes." And authorities here say they have assured him that if he comes to testify, he will not be arrested.

First Temple tablet

When Haaretz reported over five years ago on the discovery of the Jehoash inscription, the archaeology world was shaken. The inscription, some 10 lines in length, was etched onto a black stone tablet in ancient script. It described the renovation conducted by Judean king Jehoash in the First Temple, as described in 2 Kings 12.

There were immediately doubts about the authenticity of the tablet, and two committees of experts set up by the IAA confirmed the suspicions, concluding that the inscription was indeed a forgery. At the end of 2004, antiquities collector Oded Golan was put on trial. He was accused, along with others, of forging the inscription, as well as fabricating and attempting to sell many other fake antiquities. These included the James Ossuary (supposedly the bone box of Jesus' brother); ancient pottery with inscriptions; a stone menorah attributed by some to the high priest in the Second Temple; a tiny ivory pomegranate, with an inscription, that was thought to be the only existing artifact that had been used in the First Temple, and which was displayed for many years at the Israel Museum. Also determined to be a forgery was a quartz platter with an inscription in an ancient Egyptian language, which ostensibly showed that the ancient city of Megiddo was conquered by a commander of King Shishak. The inscription presumed to solve the question occupying many scholars regarding the identity of the destroyer of Megiddo.

Amir Ganor, who heads the IAA's antiquities theft prevention unit, said in his testimony that Ghatas personally confessed to him that he personally forged the Jehoash inscription, on the basis of the sketches brought to him by Oded Golan. Ganor also reveals that Ghatas admitted forging the handle of the "Menasseh, King of Judah Seal," as well as manufacturing seals and repairing clay pottery and other items according to specifications received from Golan. As for the ossuary of Jesus' brother, James, says Ganor, "Marco admitted only to rinsing and smearing it."

Old friends

Ganor describes the connection between Golan and Marco Ghatas as a close and ongoing one: "This is a relationship that went on for 15 years. At certain times, Marco lived in Oded's home. Marco had an Israeli girlfriend, who testified at the trial, and described his actions. Among the items found in Golan's possession were also crates with various items, on some of which Marco's signature appeared."

The original indictment was issued against five people. Two of them have in the meantime admitted to some of the crimes attributed to them, were dropped from the indictment and became state's witnesses. In addition to Golan, two other accused people remain: Faiz al-Amla, an antiquities trader from the village of Beit Ula in the southern part of the Hebron Hills, and Robert Deutsch, a well-known antiquities dealer from Tel Aviv. The state signed a plea bargain with al-Amla, and he was convicted and sentenced to a six-month jail term.

According to the indictment, in most cases original antiquities were taken, and then fake inscriptions or decorations were added to them, which, if authentic, would have made them extremely valuable. After the items were prepared by this method, they had an artificial patina applied to them. The patina, a layer that accumulates naturally on antiquities over the course of time, was created with great expertise, to the point where many experts were fooled into thinking that the antiquities are indeed authentic. Among the specialists taken in were professionals from the Geological Survey of Israel, in Jerusalem, and experts from archaeology labs and museums in Israel and from around the world.

In the case of the James Ossuary, the indictment alleges that Golan took an ancient ossuary on which was an authentic inscription reading "Ya'akov bar Yosef" (James, son of Joseph), and had added to it the words "ahuei de'Yeshua" (brother of Jesus). The indictment also says that Golan, possibly with assistance, covered up the forgery "by smearing various materials on the ossuary," giving it a patina that would make the entire text appear to have been written during the Second Temple period. Following that, Golan allegedly drummed up publicity for the box, and arranged for it to be displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, "where it was seen by tens of thousands of people and media from all over the world..."

Expert appraisals

After the forgery process was completed, according to the indictment, the antiquities were given to experts, both for them to verify that the forgery was successful and for them to appraise the importance of the objects. "After receiving an appraisal, attempts were made to sell the items or publicize them worldwide, with the aim of increasing their worth and selling them in the future," the indictment continues.

Among the evidence presented by the prosecution in court: photos and exhibits taken from the labs in Golan's home, where, according to the indictment, the forgeries were made; various sketches and other materials that were used in the preparation of the forgeries.

Lior Bringer, Golan's attorney, says his client denies all the charges attributed to him and stands by the authenticity of the items. "It seems unlikely to me," says Bringer, "that [Ghatas], who was in Israel so many times, encountered trouble coming here to testify. It doesn't seem to me that the Egyptian government prevented him from coming here. What seems more likely is that the man himself prefers, for reasons of his own, not to come to Israel. The antiquities that the Israel Antiquities Authority claims are forgeries - the Jehoash inscription, the ossuary and all the rest, are authentic," says Bringer.

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] If that's the way you put it, then yes. Yes.

[Narrator] Could you say that?

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] No.

[Narrator] Why?

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] I can't.

[Narrator] You can. You can.

In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to persuade public opinion in favor or against some organization or public figure. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, "spin" often implies the use of disingenuous, deceptive, and highly manipulative tactics.

-- Spin (Propaganda), by Wikipedia

German philosopher Karl Jaspers described science as methodical insight that is mandatorily certain and universal. It is the ethos of modern science to want to reliably know on the basis of unbiased research and critique. This claim is not always fulfilled by scientists.

-- Fraud in science: a plea for a new culture in research, by M J Müller, B Landsberg & J Ried

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] I can't say it.



[Tzaki Tzuriel, Private Investigator hired by antiquities collector Oded Golan.] Over time, I learned that this world of archaeological excavations and findings is a world full of what we like to call "monkey business."

It is a fitting epithet on the entire business when Mr. Weill vehemently states: "I have collected for 40 years in many fields and I have never seen such monkeys and cowboys and swindlers and liars and money-hungry bums as I find in this field!"

-- Israeli Documentary: Antiquities Market Flooded with Forgeries Reviewed, The History of Merchants, Reviewed by Rochelle Altman

[Dr. Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division, Israeli Antiquities Authority, Head of the IAA's Content & Writing Committee] Look, beyond that, there's always the danger that an authentic object won't be recognized as such and will get lost.













150 years ago, one of the greatest forgers in the history of forgery in the Land of Israel, Moses Wilhelm Shapira, a serial creator of antiquities, also uncovered pieces that looked like scrolls and metal plates that were inscribed with ancient Hebrew.



A long and complicated affair ended up with nobody believing him, he eventually committed suicide, and these objects were lost. 70 years later, the Judean Desert scrolls were discovered, and today, a new debate has arisen between scientists and paleographers as to WHETHER HE MIGHT HAVE HAD something authentic. If that ends up happening, then some scientists will eat their hats, and some will say, "I told you so."



I'm still very skeptical about this possibility, but who knows, we can't predict the future.

On 8 April 1898 Bühler drowned in Lake Constance, under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Contemporary accounts mostly attributed it to an accident, but it has been speculated that it was a suicide motivated by Bühler's connections to a scandal involving his former student Alois Anton Führer.

-- Georg Bühler, by Wikipedia

[Lenny Wolfe, Antiquities Dealer & Witness in Forgery Trial] The thing that I enjoy more than anything else, is buying something in front of everyone else, people think it's of no significance, or it's a forgery, and it turns out to be of the highest importance.



[Narrator] Ten years on, the institutional conviction is that both items were at least partially forged. But this mystery hasn't been resolved, and the conclusion is unsettling.

The Bible describes the Temple of Solomon in awe-struck terms. The main room was panelled with cedar and overlaid with fine gold. The King also ordered his workers to make two winged cherubim and cover them with gold. And that has been the source of the mystery ever since. For even though the Bible describes Solomon as the grandest of the Old Testament kings with a mighty empire, no trace of him, his empire or his temple has survived.

-- King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone, directed by Sean Smith

Could it be that the only physical evidence of Solomon's Temple, and the last resting place of James, brother of Jesus, are both now held by a private collector, away from the public eye?

[V]ague ideas are proposed to attract the attention of masses. Narcissism is shamelessly being promoted and rationalism is under attack. Unapologetic, arrogant attitude is portrayed with the agenda of self-glorification. These leaders are creating powerful rhetoric and imagery and use their magical appeal to befool masses by their uniformed utterances. Myths and bizarre irrational statements are being made to attract uneducated masses. The growing nexus between the superstitions, celebrity culture, irrationality and political patronage is giving rise of cult of godmen and godwomen while the rationalist, secular and pluralistic character of the societies is being ripped into pieces. These leaders surround themselves with the likeminded conservative people who are against intellectualism and most of these demagogues avoid press conferences which may put them in embarrassing positions and generally prefer one side dialogue using media.

-- Infantilization and Degeneration of the Politics in the Recent Times, by Shalu Nigam

Special thanks to
Mick Weinstein
David Horovitz
Simcha Jacobovichi

[admin]

King Solomon's Tablet Of Stone
directed by Sean Smith
Producer: Lara Acaster
Narrator: Jack Fortune
Horizon wishes to thank Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, Ma ariv Newspaper, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, English Edition, The City of David Visitors Center
by BBC Science & Nature
February 5, 2015

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

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Transcript

NARRATOR (JACK FORTUNE): In July 2001 a unique inscribed tablet of stone mysteriously appeared in Israel. It was an archaeological marvel that seemed to solve one of the Bible's great riddles.

Tested by some of Israel's top scientists, it revealed that in the heart of Jerusalem, 3,000 years ago, one of the legends of the ancient world had really existed -- the magnificent temple of Solomon.

But that was just the beginning, for there was another mystery hidden within the stone -- one that would have shattering consequences around the world.

Tonight Horizon tells the extraordinary story of "King Solomon's Tablet of Stone".

In Jerusalem during the summer of 2001 a secret meeting took place that would shake the world of archaeology.

BOAZ GAON: The story starts when this very renowned professor receives a mysterious phone call from a person by the name of Izak Tsu. He's asked to meet him with another renowned professor. This person appears with a briefcase. He opens up the briefcase and very dramatically takes out this beautiful black stone with an inscription on it. They look at the stone and it's beautiful, it's important, they're amazed.

NARRATOR: The mysterious stranger was a private investigator. And the inscription on his black stone was in ancient Hebrew. What it revealed was a wonder.

For the inscription seemed to offer proof of something long searched for but never found -- that nearly 3,000 years ago, in the centre of Jerusalem, there really had existed the place the Bible calls "The House of the Lord", the magnificent temple of Solomon.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: The biblical tradition tells that when Solomon built the temple and dedicated it, the first thing he did was he brought into the temple the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR: The temple was built to house the Ark of the Covenant -- the shrine containing the Ten Commandments -- the word of God written in stone.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: So the temple symbolised God's personal residence on earth among his people in his chosen city.

NARRATOR: The Bible describes the Temple of Solomon in awe-struck terms. The main room was panelled with cedar and overlaid with fine gold. The King also ordered his workers to make two winged cherubim and cover them with gold.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: According to the biblical story, the Temple in Jerusalem lasted from the time of Solomon in the 10th century until it was destroyed in 586 BCE by the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

NARRATOR: And that has been the source of the mystery ever since. For even though the Bible describes Solomon as the grandest of the Old Testament kings with a mighty empire, no trace of him, his empire or his temple has survived.

The bible said Solomon's Temple stood on the temple mount, in the heart of Jerusalem. Today one of Islam's holiest mosques stands there. At its edge is the Western Wall, where Jews from around the world come to offer their prayers. But this wall was never part of the Temple of Solomon. It was actually built almost a thousand years after Solomon. With this lack of evidence, some archaeologists began to doubt much of the Solomon story.

PROFESSOR FINKELSTEIN: There are a few pottery shells from the 10th century on the ground, a wall here and there maybe, but nothing monumental. We are left with no archaeological evidence for the great kingdom of Solomon. We are left only with the text, and the text was put in writing relatively late.

NARRATOR: But all that was before the discovery of the stone. A few months after the private investigator revealed the stone in the Jerusalem hotel, he took it to one of the country's leading scientific establishments -- the Geological Survey of Israel.

Here, experts were asked to determine the stone's authenticity on behalf of its anonymous owner. One of the first things scholars noticed was that the stone was black, like Israel's only other royal inscription from the same period. Then they looked at the wording of the inscription. This described detailed building repairs to a temple -- carried out by a King Jehoash -- who had lived a century after the time of Solomon, while his temple still stood. The bible describes similar repairs to the Temple of Solomon, carried out by King Jehoash. The passage in Kings 2, chapter 12 begins by describing King Jehoash raising money for the repairs.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: "Jehoash said to the priests, 'All the money, current money brought into the House of the Lord as a sacred donations, have it donated for the repair of the House.'"

NARRATOR: Similarly, the inscription showed Jehoash raising money for repairs.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: "I Jehoash son of Ahaziah King of the land of Judah, when the vow of each person in the land and in the desert was fulfilled to give silver of the holy offerings aplenty."

NARRATOR: Then, when the money was raised, the Bible continues...

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: "'They in turn shall strengthen the damage in the house wherever damage may be found.'"

NARRATOR: And the stone said...

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: "I repaired the construction and I made the repairs in the temple and the walls all around."

NARRATOR: Professor Hurowitz was sure the stone and the bible were describing the same events.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: I think that we're speaking about the same Royal act of repairs in the temple and the language is also rather similar.

NARRATOR: So, according to both the bible and the stone, King Jehoash first raised the funds and then repaired the Temple of Solomon, one hundred years after it was built. But the scientists at the geological survey still needed to be absolutely sure that the stone really could have come from the Temple of Solomon. So the geologists subjected it to rigorous tests. Using a scanning electron microscope, they set out to determine its authenticity. First they looked at the patina -- a thin surface layer that forms over time on the outside of a rock or stone.

DOCTOR AYALON: If we see in this sample we have a very thin brown layer, about 1mm thick, that covers the sample.

NARRATOR: The formation of a patina is caused by the interaction of chemicals in air, water or soil, with minerals in the stone itself.

DOCTOR AYALON: In this one, we see the brown and we can see that it may be thicker or thinner, but it covers all around and goes all around the sample.

NARRATOR: A patina develops slowly and may take thousands of years to form. The geologists studying the stone found that the patina was continuous across the front of the stone and crucially within the inscribed letters. This meant the inscription must have been carved in the distant past.

Next, the geologists analysed the chemical make-up of the patina. They were looking for calcium carbonate and other chemicals, which would tell them if it had formed in the Jerusalem area.

DOCTOR AYALON: They found that the trace elements like strontium, iron, magnesium, and other elements that are in the calcium carbonate, they were exactly the same proportions as in the patina in the Jerusalem area.

NARRATOR: The patina confirmed that the stone came from Jerusalem and that the inscription really was very old. The big question now was, how old?

Although it was impossible to date the stone itself, luckily within the patina there were minute particles of charcoal -- and these could be carbon dated.

The results were conclusive: they were 2,300 years old, so the carving beneath the patina had to be even older. There was no doubt the stone came from the Jerusalem area, and the inscription was thousands of years old.

And there was one last discovery that helped clinch the case that it came from the Temple of Solomon. The patina contained tiny flecks of gold -- just what you'd expect from a stone that had been through a fire in a temple lined with gold.

In January 2003 the Geological Survey officially pronounced the stone to be genuine.

Finally, the existence of Solomon's magnificent Temple had been confirmed. And the implications were staggering. If the temple existed, the legend of King Solomon was true.

And that meant an extraordinary section of the bible could be verified as history.

For millions of people of different faiths the authentification of the Stone Tablet was a fantastic affirmation of their belief. Here was a genuine archaeological find that correlated almost word for word with a biblical episode that happened nearly 3,000 years ago.

[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] It's just like your mother told you. If it's too good to be true, it's probably not true.

-- Real Fake: The Art, Life and Crimes of Elmyr De Hory: Illustrated Screenplay and Screencap Gallery, directed by Jeff Oppenheim

But for the stone itself, the next stage was to find a fitting home. And one place seemed ideal: the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This remarkable museum is home to a stunning collection of biblical antiquities. They have the Dead Sea Scrolls, the most important biblical manuscripts in existence. They also have Israel's only other royal inscription from close to the time of Solomon -- The 'House of David' Stele. This is the only reference to Solomon's father, David, that exists outside the bible. The Stone would be a fitting companion for these priceless artefacts.

JAMES SNYDER: We would of course be interested in acquiring something if we felt that it would help to amplify the story which our museum is meant to tell, and our story is the story of biblical archaeology in the ancient Holy Land, so if something were to surface of great significance for the full telling of that story we would be interested.

NARRATOR: With its authenticity confirmed the stone was offered for sale to the Israel Museum. The price was rumoured to be high.

BOAZ GAON: There was a series of meetings with the Israel Museum, initial negotiations going on between the two parties, all sorts of sums are thrown around. It's difficult to know exactly what the sum was at that point -- some people say three million, some people say four million, some people say ten million.

NARRATOR: But before the museum would part with several million dollars, it wanted to know just one more thing -- where exactly had the stone been found? The Bible said that Solomon's temple had been situated on Jerusalem's temple mount. So the stone must have come from there originally.

JAMES SNYDER: If an object is excavated then you have a much simpler time verifying its authenticity because you are taking it from its source of excavation.

NARRATOR: However, there are no official excavations on the Temple Mount -- because it is home to one of Islam's holiest shrines, the Dome of the Rock. The whole area is politically far too sensitive for archaeology. Still, rumours said the stone had been found in rubble left from recent illegal building projects being carried out on the Temple Mount. But James Snyder needed more than rumour. He wanted the full story of the stone after it had been found.

JAMES SNYDER: You want to be able to track the history of the object from the time of its excavation, if it is possible to do so, through its history of ownership until it comes to you.

NARRATOR: It was then that the saga of the stone became very mysterious indeed. Just when the museum wanted to do their own checks, both the private investigator who had first revealed it -- and the stone -- disappeared.

So Amir Ganor an investigator with the Israeli Antiquities Authority was called in. For nine months he searched for the man who had first taken the stone to the Jerusalem hotel.

AMIR GANOR: (VO translation): We travelled all over Israel from the north to the south. That detective was a very wily person, he left us very few clues. In the end we found him in an office in Ramat Gan and he told us that he'd been hired by Oded Golan.

NARRATOR: Oded Golan is a businessman and renowned collector, owner of Israel's largest private collection of antiquities. He explained that he wasn't the owner of the stone and that he didn't know where it was. He had just been involved as a middleman.

[Tzaki Tzuriel, Private Investigator hired by antiquities collector Oded Golan.] This man comes to me one day, he's an antiquities dealer. And this guy tells me he's got this find. His story was that he got it from a Palestinian antiquities dealer in East Jerusalem. He tells me, "It's one of the most important finds for the State of Israel." It's a stone, inscribed with specifications for renovating the Holy Temple. And if that's true, if it's authentic, it could be one of the greatest archaeological finds ever.



He asked me to take the stone, and my mission was to go around and show it to whoever it needed to be shown to, and then disappear with it immediately so no one would know it existed until it got some sort of seal of authenticity. One day, I'm sitting in my office, I hear a knock on my door, "Hello, we're from the Israel Antiquities Authority." And they ask me, "Do you know Oded Golan?" I said yes. They took out a camera like this one, and started questioning me.

-- Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal, Created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

ODED GOLAN: Sometime during 1999 I was called by a very reliable Palestinian dealer that I knew for many many years who ask me to assist him in selling an inscription. It seemed to be very interesting and I was ready to assist him only under one condition, that it will be offered only within Israel and to a museum in Israel after they will authentisize it.

NARRATOR: Golan said that the owner hadn't wanted to be identified, which was why he'd hired a private detective. However, the owner had since died and his widow had the stone. But she was somewhere in the occupied territories and Golan didn't know how to contact her. But Oded Golan did reveal one vital piece of information -- where the stone had been discovered.

ODED GOLAN: It was found very near to the Eastern Wall in the Muslim cemetery in Old Jerusalem outside the Temple Mount.

NARRATOR: It was stunning news. Here was confirmation that the stone had been unearthed just yards from where the Bible said that Solomon's Temple had once stood.

[Narrator] When you first saw this item, were you excited?

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] Very much. Very much. The stone itself had been in an antiquities dealer's shop for a very long time. I asked to see the antiquities dealer's inventory report, and it turned out that in his inventory report, he noted that he had an inscribed stone, that's what he wrote, [Arabic] hajar maktub. And the IAA wasn't even interested! It didn't set off a warning bell, let alone an alarm, or anything like that. So it was in his inventory.

[Narrator] How much did you pay for it? Are you free to say?

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] First of all, I'm not at liberty to say.

-- Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal, Created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

But then, the story of the stone took another remarkable turn. The reason -- another, ancient biblical artefact. Something called an ossuary or bone box. Jewish families once used ossuaries to store the bones of the dead in caves and burial chambers. They were commonly used in Jerusalem, and can still be found in caves today.

In 2002, one very special ossuary appeared. Inscribed on the side were the words 'James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus'. It was heralded as the first physical evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ and caused a worldwide sensation. It was displayed for the general public in Canada in the Royal Ontario Museum, and the exhibit received almost 100,000 visitors. And strangely, the owner was Oded Golan.

[Oded Golan, Private Collector] I bought the ossuary when I was a university student at the Technion from an antiquities dealer in Silwan. It's a very simple ossuary. What intrigued me was that it had a Hebrew inscription.

-- Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal, Created by Eiv Kristal and Natan Odenheier

Journalist Boaz Gaon found Golan's connection to both the stone and the ossuary just too good to be true.

BOAZ GAON: As soon as we made the link we knew that something is sort of very strange here because the same collector seemed to be linked to these two incredibly dramatic artefacts. It either was an extremely wonderful stroke of luck or something very suspicious.

NARRATOR: The Israeli authorities were also suspicious -- they raided Golan's apartment and storehouses. There they found the ossuary -- perched on a toilet. And they also unearthed the elusive stone.

HANDLING HISTORIC ARTIFACTS

In general, you should handle artifacts as little as possible. The oils, acids and salts in human skin will damage most all types of materials over time. Whenever it is necessary to touch an artifact — for example, when setting up or taking down an exhibit or when re-housing the artifact for storage — use clean, dry, lotion-free hands. Or more preferably, wear clean cotton or latex gloves. Follow common sense, though, and do not wear gloves if the object could easily slip from gloved hands. Remove watches, rings and other jewelry that might snag, scratch or chip the surface of the artifact. Also be aware of belt buckles, buttons and other accessories that may come in contact with the artifact.

All artifacts should be treated as if they are extremely fragile, even if they do not appear so. It is also important to know the history of the artifact so that you’re aware of any previous damage, repairs, loose parts or weak spots. Avoid picking up objects by handles, straps or other protruding components. If an item breaks, make every effort to collect all detached or broken pieces. A well-trained conservator may be able to repair it.

Ideally, artifacts should be handled and/or moved one at a time. Do not stack items in order to move them. In the case of very small, light artifacts, you may place them in a well-padded basket or tray, but do not allow the artifacts to touch. Do not try to carry large, bulky or heavy objects alone. Always pick up an artifact — never push, pull or slide it. Use both hands and provide full support to the entire object, especially the base.

-- Basic Guidelines for the Preservation of Historic Artifacts, by Texas Historical Commission

With the artefacts now in their possession, the authorities set up a committee of linguists and scientists, to determine once and for all the authenticity of the ossuary and the stone. Victor Hurowitz, Israel's leading expert on royal building inscriptions, was asked to examine the writing on the stone.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: The language and therefore the style of the inscription is Biblical Hebrew. It's eloquent, it's elegant, it's charming. I enjoy reading it.

NARRATOR: But as he examined it more closely he found something that didn't quite make sense. It was all to do with the key phrase "I made repairs to the temple" or in Hebrew -- "bedek a baied".

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: The main problem in this inscription is this expression "bedek a baied". In one word, this is an anachronism.

NARRATOR: According to professor Hurowitz, "bedek a baied" had a different meaning in the time of the Temple of Solomon to the meaning it has today. In modern Hebrew it means to repair, but in ancient Hebrew it meant the exact opposite -- to damage. So its use in this inscription made no sense at all.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: "Bedek a baied", which means, if I translate, "I made damages to the temple". Now this in a Royal building inscription, where the king is taking pride in what he's done in the temple repairs, to say that he damaged the temple is absolutely ridiculous.

NARRATOR: Victor Hurowitz now had real doubts that the stone had been inscribed in the time of Solomon's Temple, almost 3,000 years ago.

PROFESSOR VICTOR HUROWITZ: Unfortunately for the author, where it gets to the main part of the inscription and says I made the bedek a baied, he fouled up and he put in modern Hebrew.

NARRATOR: But not everyone agreed with Hurowitz's interpretation. Professor Chaim Cohen is another expert in ancient Hebrew. He believes that there are so few texts discovered from the time of Solomon that no one can be sure how the language was used 3,000 years ago. It was simply the way the stone had been found that made everyone suspicious.

PROFESSOR CHAIM COHEN: Had the inscription been found in controlled archaeological excavations it would have prompted scholars to say that now we must re-look at the way we've been seeing the vocalization in our Hebrew bibles to date.

NARRATOR: Professor Cohen believes that if the stone had been found in a formal archaeological dig, no one would have questioned it. They simply would have seen the inscription as clarifying the use of ancient Hebrew words. Beyond that, he was convinced that the stone could not have been the work of someone who made clumsy mistakes.

PROFESSOR CHAIM COHEN: If it is a forgery, then the forger must have been a near genius as far as the level of sophistication that we find in this inscription.

NARRATOR: The linguistic evidence was inconclusive. There was still no hard reason to doubt that the stone had come from the Temple of Solomon. Everything now hung on the investigations of the scientists on the committee. The focus of their attention was the patina -- the weathered layer on the outside of the stone. It was this, especially the charcoal particles that were dated to 2,300 years ago, that had convinced the scientists who had carried out the original analysis. Elisabetta Boaretto was asked to re-date those particles.

DR ELISABETTA BOARETTO: The radiocarbon age was 2,250 plus/minus 40 years. This is a very nice precise age, and calibrated this corresponded to an interval in time that goes from 200 BC, before Christ, to 390 BC.

NARRATOR: Her results seemed to confirm the original research -- the charcoal in the patina was very old. But, it was theoretically possible for someone to have to taken charcoal from another source and added it to the patina. For Dr Boaretto, the only way to be absolutely sure of the stone was to look again at the patina in which the charcoal was embedded.

The man charged with this task was one of Israel's top archaeological investigators. Yuval Goren is a professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and a geologist. He has a detailed knowledge of both Biblical archaeology and the rocks of the Jerusalem area.

He began by looking at the patina on the back of the stone. An authentic patina would be firmly attached to the underlying stone.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: This patina on the back of the stone is, actually it was very tightly connected to the stone. We needed a little chisel and a hammer to peel off small samples of the patina.

NARRATOR: This was clearly a natural patina. But then professor Goren examined it under the microscope. He expected it to be made of calcium carbonate, which is local to the Temple Mount. But what he saw was this -- a patina made only of silica. This could not have formed in Jerusalem. In other words -- the patina on the back of the stone could not have come from the Temple Mount.

Puzzled, Professor Goren turned his attention to the patina covering the inscription on the front of the stone. Here, he did find calcium carbonate, just as one would expect of a patina formed in Jerusalem. But now there was a new mystery -- how could the patina on the front of the stone be different from that on the back?

The answer began to emerge as Professor Goren sampled the patina from within the carved letters. Strangely -- it didn't seem to be bonded to the stone in any natural way at all.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: The patina is very loosely connected to the stone. Here we can see how it reacts to me scraping it with a matchstick and you can see that it easily peels off the letters as opposed again to the patina on the back side.

NARRATOR: And when he studied the patina on the front of the stone in detail he found something else even stranger -- tiny marine fossils, called forams.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: Within the patina they are quite common, here we can see one, and here we can see another two.

NARRATOR: These fossils could only be found if the patina formed beneath the sea. And the Temple of Solomon was nowhere near the sea.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: Of course one can't expect to find such fossils of plankton, of marine organisms, in patina that is created in the land environment.

NARRATOR: This was a complete mystery. It seemed impossible for a patina from a temple built in Jerusalem to contain the fossils of sea creatures.

Then came the most telling detail of all.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: When the letters are cleared, the inner part of the letter is exposed and as you can see here it is very freshly cut, you can see even the little lines, the little parallel lines of the chisel, or even maybe some drill, some electric bit or drill with which the letters were engraved, which is of course very unusual for ancient inscriptions.

NARRATOR: So he put it all together -- the inscription had been recently carved. There were two different patinas. And the one on the front contained marine fossils -- impossible if it had formed in Jerusalem. He concluded the patina on the front of the stone was artificial -- a mixture to which gold and iron age charcoal had been added by hand.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: And therefore I believe that the stone, or not the stone of course, but the inscription is not genuine.

NARRATOR: Alarmed by what he'd found with the stone, Professor Goren turned his attention to the James Ossuary. Again he found a similar story -- a freshly cut inscription with an artificial patina applied over the top.

On the 18th of June 2003, the Israeli Authorities delivered their conclusion.

DR DAHARI: Good day to you, to all of us. The patina in the letters in both items is a modern forgery covering the letters. The conclusion is that the two inscriptions are modern inscriptions. This is a forgery, totally, without any doubt about it.

NARRATOR: The two most important biblical finds in a generation were proven to be fakes. There was no archaeological proof for the existence of Jesus Christ. There was no evidence for the existence of The Temple of Solomon.

There was now outrage in the world of Israeli archaeology. How had the forgers succeeded in fooling some of the country's top scholars? How had they managed to pull it off? Yuval Goren, whose work had helped expose the forgery, was determined to find the answers.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: Forgeries are a contamination of science, of archaeology as a science. Science is being biased, history is being biased, archaeology is being biased, and there is, the more sources like that appeal, forged, fake sources like that appeal, of course science is more distorted.

NARRATOR: He began his investigations with the black stone itself. His analysis showed the stone was of a rock type that was not indigenous to Israel. He knew that for the inscription the forgers had needed an old black rock already cut to a rectangular shape -- and he thought he'd worked out how they had acquired it. Just up the coast from Tel Aviv is an old crusader fortress. The stones in its walls have already been cut to shape. Some of them are black. And many are not local -- the crusaders brought them here.

PROFESSOR YUVAL GOREN: Ships that used to come to this place were loaded sometimes with ballast stones, to hold them balanced, and then they used to unload them, and so these stones were in many cases reused for buildings. This stone is a dark stone, it's obviously not a local stone to this area, which is already carved, it was probably carved to its rectangular shape in order to place it as the dressing of this wall, and so somebody coming to such a place could find dark stones like that, that are already made up to a rectangular flat shape.

NARRATOR: Professor Goren was now certain: the stone used for the inscription must have come from this, or a similar, Crusader Fort. But for the forgers getting hold of an old stone of the right shape was just the first step in making an inscribed tablet capable of fooling the experts. The team of forgers must have included a scholar of ancient Hebrew, to write the elegant inscription. Then they would have needed a master stone carver who could inscribe it. But above all else, the thing they had to get right, was the patina.

Just how had it been possible to concoct a mixture that had convinced Israel's top geologists that it was an ancient patina from Jerusalem's Temple Mount? To solve this puzzle the investigating authorities brought in geochemist Avner Ayalon. He dissolved samples of the patina in acid to produce a gas containing different types of oxygen atoms called isotopes. Each isotope has its own unique atomic weight -- and the quantity of each isotope in the gas can be determined using a mass spectrometer. Measuring the ratio of these different isotopes tells Doctor Ayalon the temperature at which a patina has formed. His results were revealing. The patina on both the inscription and the ossuary had formed at temperatures far too hot for them to have occurred naturally.

DOCTOR AYALON: The temperature which I calculated, 40 to 50 centigrade, for sure, it is much higher than natural temperatures that prevailed in the Jerusalem area in the last 3,000 years.

NARRATOR: This high temperature gave Dr Ayalon a clue as to how the patina had been formed. He believes the ingredients of the patina must have been ground up, with hot water being added to help them dissolve.

DOCTOR AYALON: Someone grinded calcium carbonate. You grind it and mix it with hot water. If you use hot water then you get a much better cementation of the artificial patina which had been cemented to the artefacts.

NARRATOR: One of the crucial ingredients was chalk. It was this that had provided the calcium carbonate for the patina. It also explained why forams had been found. They are very common fossils in chalk. The patina mix also included a little bit of soil from the Jerusalem area, some gold and some iron age charcoal. These were masterly touches introduced by someone who knew exactly what would convince the experts.

In the summer of 2003, after the biggest archaeological investigation in Israeli police history, Oded Golan was taken into custody. It was then that investigators realised they could be dealing with more than just the stone and the ossuary. When police searched Golan's apartment they found a hidden workshop filled with tools and half made artefacts.

There was this large dark stone -- very like the stone used for the Temple of Solomon Inscription. Then there were these tools, including a drill and drill bits. And there were also boxes of soil that could be used in a fake patina. But what was most suspicious were the artefacts. Some were in the early stages of preparation, like this casting for a bronze statue. And some appeared finished, like these royal seals, or bullae.

BOAZ GAON: What happened was that the Jehoash inscription revealed this Pandora's box filled with antiques and artefacts that have been sold to various museums and various collectors for various very large sums of money during the past 10 or 15 years.

NARRATOR: The implications of this were immense. Collectors around the world have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for supposedly ancient seals, painted pottery shards and other artefacts that came through Oded Golan's associates. Dozens of these items have now been examined by Professor Goren, and all have been revealed to be forgeries. Police now suspect that artefacts made by the same team of forgers have found their way into leading museums around the world.

BOAZ GAON: The interesting question is now, from the list of artefacts that are currently shown in various museums in Israel, in London, in New York, in Paris, are they fake? Are they authentic? If Oded Golan was linked to any of them does that mean that they are forged? And this is going to be dramatic.

PROFESSOR FINKELSTEIN: Everything which came to the market in the last 20 years or so, things which did not come from an excavation, should probably be considered a fake unless otherwise proven.

NARRATOR: It is a deeply shocking revelation.

And beyond that, there is something even more disturbing. The forgers were playing on the desire of millions of people to see the bible confirmed as history.

It is an immensely cruel and cynical thing to have done. And for those in search of Solomon and his great temple, it means their goal is as far away as ever.

[admin]

The Jerusalem Syndrome in Archaeology: Jehoash to James: Is it possible that over a century after Sir William Mathew Flinders-Petrie established the scientific methodology of biblical archaeology, the discipline is still controlled by dilatants [dilettantes] and charlatans?
by Yuval Goren
Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures
Tel-Aviv University, Israel
January 2004

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Introduction

The Jerusalem Syndrome is a clinical psychiatric diagnosis first identified in the 1930s by Dr. Heinz Herman, one of the founders of modern psychiatric research in Israel. Subsequent research was made by Dr. Yair Bar El, former director of the Kfar Shaul Psychiatric Hospital in Jerusalem, involving 470 tourists who had been declared temporarily insane.[1] The Jerusalem Syndrome is a temporary state of sudden and intense religious delusions brought on while visiting or living in Jerusalem. Most of the hospitalized visitors were Jews, but many others were Christians. The clinical symptoms usually begin with a vague and extremely intense excitement. The patients often adopt "biblical" or otherwise eccentric clothing, sometimes merging their identity with that of a character from the Bible or having a strong feeling of mission. They typically adopt a lifestyle of religious observance and attach unusual significance to religious relics. The most interesting feature, considering the extreme behaviors associated with the Jerusalem Syndrome, is that the subjects sometimes have no prior history of psychiatric difficulty and exhibit none afterward. These patients, if they recover, are typically embarrassed by behavior they cannot explain.

"Do you think John the Baptist was an Essene?" he asked Sherri.

Never at any time did Sherri Solvig admit she didn't know the answer to a theological question; the closest she came surfaced in the form of responding, "I'll ask Larry." To Fat she now said calmly. " John the Baptist was Elijah who returns before Christ comes. They asked Christ about that and he said John the Baptist was Elijah who had been promised."

"But was he an Essene."

Pausing momentarily in her ironing, Sherri said, "Didn't the Essenes live in the Dead Sea?"

"Well, at the Qumran Wadi."

"Didn't your friend Bishop Pike die in the Dead Sea?"

Fat had known Jim Pike, a fact he always proudly narrated to people given a pretext. "Yes," he said. "Jim and his wife had driven out onto the Dead Sea Desert in a Ford Cortina. They had two bottles of Coca-Cola with them; that's all."

"You told me," Sherri said, resuming her ironing.

"What I could never figure out," Fat said, "is why they didn't drink the water in the car radiator. That's what you do when your car breaks down in the desert and you're stranded." For years Fat had brooded about Jim Pike's death. He imagined that it was somehow tied in with the murders of the Kennedys and Dr. King, but he had no evidence whatsoever for it.

"Maybe they had anti-freeze in their radiator," Sherri said.

"In the Dead Sea Desert?"

Sherri said, "My car has been giving me trouble. The man at the Exxon station on Seventeenth says that the motor mounts are loose. Is that serious?"

Not wanting to talk about Sherri's beat-up old car but wanting instead to rattle on about Jim Pike, Fat said, "I don't know." He tried to think how to get the topic back to his friend's perplexing death but could not.

***

On the drive back to Fat's lonely apartment, where he and Sherri had lived together for such a short time, Fat said to Kevin, "I'm going crazy. I can't take it."

"That's a normal reaction," Kevin said, showing nothing of his cynical pose, these days.

"Tell me," Fat said, "why God doesn't help her." He kept Kevin up on the progress of his exegesis; his encounter with God in 1974 was known to Kevin, so Fat could talk openly.

Kevin said, "It's the mysterious ways of the Great Punta."

"What the fuck is that?" Fat said.

"I don't believe in God," Kevin said. "I believe in the Great Punta. And the ways of the Great Punta are mysterious. No one knows why he does what he does, or doesn't do."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No," Kevin said.

"Where did the Great Punta come from?"

"Only the Great Punta knows."

"Is he benign?"

"Some say he is; some say he isn't."

"He could help Sherri if he wanted to."

Kevin said, "Only the Great Punta knows that."

They started laughing.

Obsessed with death, and going crazy from grief and worry about Sherri, Fat wrote entry 15 in his tractate.

15. The Sibyl of Cumae protected the Roman Republic and gave timely warnings. In the first century C.E. she foresaw the murders of the two Kennedy brothers, Dr. King and Bishop Pike. She saw the two common denominators in the four murdered men: first, they stood in defense of the liberties of the Republic; and second, each man was a religious leader. For this they were killed. The Republic had once again become an empire with a Caesar. "The Empire never ended."

-- Valis, by Philip K. Dick

During the last decade and especially towards the end of the second millennium AD, a number of archaeological artifacts of unknown origin have surfaced on the local antiquities market. A common feature of these artifacts is their reference to Jerusalem through attributions to major biblical landmarks or personalities such as the Jerusalem Temple, Judahite kings and other officials, or Jesus Christ. This attribution is made both on the item, through a dedication text, and about it, through opinions by persons who are sources of authority in various scholarly fields. Methodologically, it seems that their peculiar treatment by the scientific community may be interpreted as a milder symptom of the Jerusalem Syndrome. In what follows, I would like to present in short the narratives of some of these items as they relate to the hazardous role of the Jerusalem Syndrome in biblical archaeology.

The Moussaieff Ostraca

A pair of Late Iron Age ostraca, written by the same hand on different matters, will be the first subject of this discussion. Oded Golan, an antiquities collector from Tel-Aviv, sold these items to Shlomo Moussaieff, the well-known antique collector from London.[2] The first and most remarkable ostracon is an order by king Josiah of Judah to bring three shekels of Tarshish silver to the House of God. The second is a plea by a widow to an official for preservation of the rights over her property. After first being published in two scientific journals,[3] Hershel Shanks, the editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR), published them in a series of articles in his journal under bold headlines and with particular reference to the first ostracon as one of the only material evidences of the Solomonic Temple in Jerusalem, its text having been authenticated by the renowned Semitic epigrapher André Lemaire of the Sorbonne.[4]

Now we have a flashback to Andre Lemaire early in November 2002. Lemaire, who as a seminary student, completed the equivalent of a Ph.D. in the history of the church ministry in the late 1960's -- a specialist in James-era Christianity. Lemaire, who overnight became an "expert" epigrapher by virtue of his find of the fake pomegranate in 1979, the first of the fakes heavily promoted in the Biblical Archaeological Review -- the BAR. Lemaire whose claim in 1979 to being an expert with many years of experience as an epigrapher was based on the publication of his thesis, a small volume published in 1977 (Hebraic inscriptions, introduction, traduction, commentary) in a field he conceived a sudden "passion" for in 1972. (A field your reviewer entered in 1954.) Here we see and hear Andre Lemaire babbling on about how he suddenly made the connection between the forged names on the bone box and James of the church. As if he would not know all about his own seminarist specialty.

-- Israeli Documentary: Antiquities Market Flooded with Forgeries Reviewed. The History of Merchants, Reviewed by Rochelle Altman

The famous Ivory Pomegranate Inscription: Is it a forgery or authentic? You decide. And let us know your decision.

Get ready to experience the excitement of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!—where the unbelievable comes alive right before your eyes! Visit any one of Ripley’s 29 museums around the world to marvel at hundreds of unusual artifacts and get hands on with amazing interactives.

-- Ripley's Believe It or Not! Aquariums, Attractions, and Weird ..., by ripleys.com

A Hebrew inscription is engraved around the shoulder of the thumb-size pomegranate that reads, “Holy to the priests, (belonging) to the Temple of [Yahwe]h.”

For decades the tiny object occupied a special place in Jerusalem’s prestigious Israel Museum—the only surviving relic from Solomon’s Temple.

The pomegranate was first seen in 1979 in a Jerusalem antiquities shop by one of the world’s leading Semitic epigraphers, André Lemaire of the Sorbonne. Based on a lifetime of experience and a careful examination, he pronounced the inscription authentic. It was also examined by Professor Nahman Avigad of The Hebrew University, then Israel’s most respected epigrapher, who wrote that “I am fully convinced of ... the authenticity of its inscription ... [T]he epigraphic evidence alone, in my opinion, is absolutely convincing.”

With these assurances, in 1989 the Israel Museum acquired the pomegranate for $550,000. All Israel was excited. On the day the pomegranate went on display in a special room of the museum with a narrow light beaming on it from the ceiling, the exhibit was the first item on the evening news in Israel.

In 2004, after two widely publicized inscriptions had been declared forgeries by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the museum decided to revisit the question of the authenticity of the Pomegranate Inscription. A special committee was appointed to reexamine the inscription, using the latest scientific technologies. The committee concluded that the inscription was a forgery!

-- Is This Inscription Fake? You Decide, by Hershel Shanks

The BAR articles also referred to the results of scientific examinations that were conducted on the patina covering the letters by the Microfocus Oy laboratory in Helsinki.[5] The examinations of the patina revealed that it had two phases – the first carbonatic and the other siliceous -- indicating its sequential deposition over the inscription. The researcher concluded that this sequential deposition was evidently slow and natural, hence proving the antiquity of the inscription below. Therefore, the patina and the deposits on the surface seem to have developed naturally during burial. No modern elements or materials including adhesives were detected.[6]

However, shortly after the first publication in BAR, there were some skeptical voices. Several scholars referred to the ostraca as being "too good to be true".[7] Moreover, in a review article in the Israel Exploration Journal, the epigraphers Israel Eph'al and Yosef Naveh of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem suggested that by their text and style the inscriptions may be modern forgeries, including a puzzle of syntax and letter styles from various published epigraphic sources.[8] As a result of these uncertainties, the owner decided to submit the ostraca for more detailed laboratory examinations. This time, the sherds, the ink, and the patina of the two ostraca were examined in the laboratories of Aventis Research and Technologies, a biotechnological corporation based in Frankfurt, Germany, with branches in the United States. A detailed report by the head of the laboratory and a fellow researcher suggests that the two ostraca are modern fakes.[9] The analytical results clearly demonstrate that prior to the process of patina deposition a sharp tool was used to modify the letters. The simulated patina that was then applied over the inscription contained modern paraffin, lime, and some ash. From this data, it is evident that the results of Microfocus were somewhat out of focus.[10] It is of interest to note that in the recent discussion on the authenticity of the ostraca in the last May-June volume of BAR, the Aventis results are completely overlooked by the editor.[11]

The Jerusalem Lamp

A first-century-AD oil lamp with seven nozzles made of Senonian chalk and decorated with Jewish motifs is the next subject of this discussion. The same antiquities collector from Tel-Aviv [Oded Golan] shared this item with another Israeli antiquities collector.[12] Extremely well preserved, the lamp is remarkable in its unique combination of seven nozzles, the depiction of the temple menorah and a set of icons representing the seven species of crops with which the Holy Land was blessed. The lamp was brought for study to Varda Sussman, an expert in ancient oil lamps, prior to a proposed publication in BAR, under bold headlines, as the only tangible evidence from the Herodian Temple in Jerusalem.[13] The proposed article also referred to the results of scientific examinations that were conducted on the patina covering the lamp by the two co-authors, Drs. Shimon Ilani and Amnon Rosenfeld from the Geological Survey of Israel. Samples of the patina were studied using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer to investigate the element content and analyzed under ultraviolet light. A special examination was made to check whether modern contamination or adhesives are involved in the patina. The examinations of the patina revealed that it had two phases – the first carbonatic and the other siliceous -- indicating its sequential deposition over the lamp. In their report, Ilani and Rosenfeld indicated that the patina and the deposits on the artifact’s surface seem to have developed naturally during burial. No modern elements or materials including adhesives were detected.[14]

However, shortly after the submission of the article for publication in BAR, there was a skeptical voice. Varda Sussman referred to the lamp as being "too good to be true."[15] In her part of the article, she hinted that by its style the lamp might be a modern forgery, including a puzzle of motifs from various published sources. As a result of this uncertainty, Hershel Shanks, the editor of BAR, decided to reject the paper from publication. In his letter to the authors, the editor explained as follows: “For authenticity Mrs. Sussman says she relies mostly on the geologists. Oddly, they do not confront the issue of authenticity directly. They seem to assume it. All they can say is that the authenticity must be made on the basis of stylistic interpretation. And Mrs. Sussman has already told us she cannot do this.”[16]

The James Ossuary

It is of interest to note that despite these harsh words, it was Mr. Shanks who accepted only a few months later and without any questioning the authenticity evaluation made by Ilani and Rosenfeld to another first-century-AD artifact made of Senonian chalk.[17] This time it was a modest stone ossuary bearing the Aramaic inscription Yaakov bar Yoseph, Achui de Yeshua, namely "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." The same antiquities collector from Tel-Aviv [Oded Golan] owned this item. After its first presentation in a dramatic press conference, Mr. Shanks published the item in a series of articles in his journal under bold headlines and with reference to the ossuary as one of the only material evidences of Jesus Christ, its text having been authenticated by Prof. André Lemaire of the Sorbonne.[18] These publications also referred to the results of the scientific examinations that were conducted by Ilani and Rosenfeld, with subsequent tests by scientists from the Royal Ontario Museum.[19] The samples were studied using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer to investigate the element content and analyzed under ultraviolet light. A special examination was made to check whether modern contamination or adhesives were involved in the patina. In their report, Ilani and Rosenfeld indicated that the patina and the deposits on the artifact's surface and the inscription seem to have developed naturally during burial. No modern elements or materials including adhesives were detected.

However, shortly after the first publication in BAR, there were some skeptical voices. Several scholars referred to the ossuary as being "too good to be true." Moreover, in a review article in the Bible and Interpretation website, epigrapher Rochelle Altman [claimed] forgery, including a puzzle of syntax and letter styles from various published epigraphic sources.[20] Such view was later suggested also by Prof. Frank Moore Cross of Harvard University.[21] As a result of these uncertainties, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) decided to submit the ossuary for more detailed examinations. This time the inscription and the patina of the ossuary were examined by a group of independent epigraphers and geoarchaeologists from various institutions and universities in Israel. In a detailed report by Avner Ayalon from the Geological Survey of Israel and by me, the inscription on the otherwise authentic ossuary is suggested as being a modern fake.

The analytical results clearly demonstrate that after the natural patination process a sharp tool was used to create or modify the letters. Fake patina was then applied, containing chalk powder that was dissolved in hot water and then used to cover the freshly cut inscription. By this method, the fake patina could not be distinguished from the authentic one by the use of the rather unsophisticated method of ultraviolet light nor by simple chemical analyses that only yielded the presence of calcium carbonate at both the authentic and fake patinas. However, with the combination of micromorphologic study and the examination of the isotopic ratios of oxygen and carbon within the calcite, it became clear that the patina covering the freshly cut letters was artificial and completely different from the patina covering the rest of the surface of the ossuary.[22] Evidently, as had been noted in an earlier case, the previous scientists who examined the inscription did not confront the issue of authenticity directly. They seemed to assume it. Still, it is of interest to note that in the discussions on the authenticity of the ossuary in the subsequent issues of BAR and on the Internet, the IAA results were challenged by various extremely intellectual [sophistic] arguments.

For example, it was said that the ossuary was placed by the collector's mother on her balcony where it was constantly washed with tap water which somehow changed the isotopic composition of the calcite but only inside the inscription, not around it. It was claimed that someone used a sharp tool in modern times for vigorously cleaning the letters prior to their cover by the patina, which was still considered authentic and naturally developed over a long period of time. Another defender of the authenticity of the inscription suggested that the inscription was cleaned by acid which changed the isotopic composition of the oxygen in the patina covering the script.[23] The last comment is especially remarkable for its lack of understanding of even basic chemistry. Shanks' co-author of the book "James, Brother of Jesus" even implied that the IAA committee, composed only of Jewish scholars, had a hidden theological agenda against the Christian world.[24] All these arguments, expressing more than anything else the depth of scientific integrity of their presenters, are not worth any further comment.[25]

The Jehoash Inscription

A black stone tablet bearing an engraved Hebrew inscription in Phoenician script is the next subject of our discussion. An attempt was made to sell this item to the Israel Museum by a representative of the same antiquities collector from Tel-Aviv [Oded Golan].[26] This remarkable tablet bears an inscription commemorating the repairs made by King Jehoash of Judah to the House of God. After first being published in the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz,[27] the editor of BAR published it in a series of articles in his journal under bold headlines and with the remark that if authentic, it is one of the only material evidences of the Solomonic Temple in Jerusalem.[28] The articles also referred to the results of the scientific examinations that were conducted by Drs. Shimon Ilani and Amnon Rosenfeld of the Geological Survey of Israel. The latter studied samples of the patina and the rock.

He used a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer to investigate the element content and X-ray diffraction and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry to study the mineral and element composition. A special examination was made to check whether modern contamination or adhesives could be detected within the patina. The examinations of the patina revealed that it had two phases -- carbonatic and siliceous -- indicating its sequential deposition over the inscription. In their report, Ilani and Rosenfeld indicated that the patina and the deposits on the artifact's surface and the inscription seem to have developed naturally during burial. No modern elements or materials including adhesives were detected.[29] These observations led Ilani and Rosenfeld to sweeping, even fantastic, conclusions[30] that were later omitted from the published report, most likely by the editorial board.

However, shortly after publication in Ha'aretz and elsewhere, there were some skeptical voices. Several scholars referred to the tablet as being "too good to be true".[31] Moreover, epigraphers Israel Eph'al of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Frank Moore Cross of Harvard University suggested that by its text and style the inscription is a modern forgery, including a puzzle of syntax and letter styles from various published epigraphic sources.[32] At the same time, I criticized the conclusions reached by Ilani and Rosenfeld regarding the authenticity of the patina over the inscription.[33] As a result of these uncertainties, the IAA decided to submit the inscription for more detailed examinations. This time the inscription and the patina coating were examined by the same group of unrelated epigraphers and geoarchaeologists from various institutions and universities in Israel. In a detailed report by Avner Ayalon from the Geological Survey of Israel and by me, the Jehoash inscription is suggested as being a modern fake.

The analytical results clearly demonstrate that prior to the artificial patina process a sharp tool was used to create the letters. Fake patina was then applied, containing a mixture of iron-rich clay, some ancient charcoal, and chalk powder that was dissolved in hot water and then poured over the freshly cut inscription. By using this method, the fake patina could not be distinguished from an authentic one by simple chemical analyses that only yielded the presence of alumina, silica, and calcium carbonate. However, with the combination of micromorphologic study and the examination of the isotopic ratios of oxygen and carbon within the calcite, it became clear that the patina covering the freshly cut letters was artificial.[34] Evidently, as had been noted in an earlier case, the previous scientists who examined the inscription did not confront the issue of authenticity directly. They seemed to assume it.

Discussion

It is only due to the limits of space that I do not go on and on with similar narratives. A hundred and thirty years after the exposure of the naïve and crude biblical forgeries of Moses Wilhelm Shapira, it seems that biblical archaeology did not learn the lesson and has completely forgotten its implications. Recently, I had the dubious pleasure of examining a seemingly endless line of fake biblical texts of various kinds. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of such forgeries referring especially to the time of the First Temple. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the disciplines of biblical history and archaeology have been contaminated to such an extent that no unprovenanced written source seems to be reliable anymore. To put it even more bluntly, the sciences of Hebrew epigraphy and philology are nothing but a fool's paradise. The question arises: are we playing here with science or with science fiction? Is it possible that, as in the popular movie "The Matrix," we all live in a virtual world that was programmed for us by aliens and operated by a well-organized system of naïve scientists, media tycoons, and other messengers, who manipulate us so we can live calmly in the virtual reality that they created for us?

Is it possible that over a century after Sir William Mathew Flinders-Petrie established the scientific methodology of biblical archaeology, the discipline is still controlled by dilatants [dilettantes] and charlatans? As we all still hope that most of the scientists involved in this saga were motivated only by true scientific purposes, we must ask how could some of them be so naïve, ignore any sense of objectivity and be trapped in the crude pitfalls set by the forgers? Considering the nature of the fakes in question, the answer to this question may lie in the domain of psychology. The forgeries discussed here are not merely fakes of ancient artifacts. They are relics, intended to manipulate the emotions of scientists and the public alike by using the attribution to biblical events.[35] These forgeries were intended to infect collectors, museums, scientists, and scholars with the Jerusalem Syndrome in order to boost their market price and attract public attention.

We biblical archaeologists must now decide whether we are ready to remain in a fool's paradise or fight back in order to bring back science into our discipline. For my grandfather, who was a very orthodox Jew, the question whether there was a temple in Jerusalem or not was completely irrelevant to the depth and sincerity of his faith. He never needed a dubious ostracon, written in dodgy biblical Hebrew and coated by a layer of modern lime and wax, to make his belief stronger. I am confident that the discovery of the James Ossuary has not served to bring more people into the belief in the historicity of the Gospels. Perhaps the opposite is true. But for those of us who care about the future and integrity of biblical archaeology and history, the Jerusalem Syndrome in archaeology is a question of life and death -- either we fight against it, or we lose any trace of scientific dignity.

Addendum: Final blow or just a blow?

Avner Ayalon* and Yuval Goren**

* Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel.
** Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

Recently, geologist James A. Harrell reviewed (in the non-peer reviewed BAR) our analytical results concerning the James Ossuary under the flaunting heading: "Final blow to IAA report: flawed geochemistry used to condemn James inscription."[36] Despite this dramatic heading that was presumably put there by the editors, Harrell's "final blow" to our conclusions is that the patina covering the inscription on the James Ossuary was either faked or recreated by cleaning. Harrell's arguments for the "flawed geochemistry" seem to be as strong as the final conclusion of his commentary. In what follows, we address them in short:

1. "Both scientists specifically point out that their statements are not final reports and that they will publish their complete findings later in a professional journal."

Harrell referrs in his article to the abstract published by the IAA in the June 2003 press conference. Harrell never bothered to contact any of us for the data nor for clarifying some misunderstandings that he seemingly had. We assume that Harrell knows that it takes some time for a scientific article to be refereed and accepted for publication in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal. Still, between the press conference (June 2003) and now, our scientific paper was accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science.[37] Harrell could easily have asked for a pre-print of the article and received it (as did the BAR managing editor per his request).

2. "Ayalon assumed (but did not demonstrate) that calcite is the primary, if not the only, mineral on both the ancient patina and the inscription coating."

Based on EDS analyses, the "letters' patina" as well as the "non-inscriptional parts" are composed of CaCO3.

3. "For Ayalon's hot-water scheme to work, the limestone would have to be dissolved in a hot acid-water solution and then the calcite crystallized by evaporating the solution. However, a coating made this way would have an acid residue and so give away its origin. To test for this possibility, the inscription coating needs to be chemically analyzed, but this has not yet been done."

(a) The calcite could have precipitated directly from the hot water itself (the same as the "cattle-stone" precipitates). There is no need to dissolve ground calcite.

(b) The acid involved in patina formation in nature is carbonic acid (H2CO3) formed as rainwater passes through the coil and dissolves soil-CO2. Once this acid is used, heating the water will result in CO2-degassing and CaCO3 precipitation with no acid residue. This could have been done artificially by using the same acid and without leaving any trace for it.

4. "…the ancient patina is clearly not pure calcite — its brownish color must be due to either iron oxides, clay minerals, and/or organic matter, all of which contain oxygen. The inscription coating also may not be pure calcit."

Harrell is completely wrong. The ancient patina is made of CaCO3, the same as the inscription coating. Moreover, to liberate CO2 gas from the CaCO3 for mass-spectrometric analysis, we use dry phosphoric acid (H3PO4). In this reaction, iron oxides, clay minerals, and other silicate minerals, which may be present in very small amounts, do not react with the acid. Harrell, as a stable-isotope geochemist, should also know that in the mass-spectrometer we analyzed the isotopic composition of CO2 gas liberated in the reaction and NOT the isotopic composition of oxygen (O2) gas.

5. "Ayalon dismisses out of hand the one sample of inscription coating whose δ18O value fell within the range of the ancient patina…. Ayalon is showing his bias by not allowing for the other possibility: that the word Jesus (where the samples came from) is truly ancient. This, plus the fact that one member of the IAA committee observed traces of ancient patina in the "brother of Jesus" part of the inscription, provide two solid pieces of evidence supporting the inscription is antiquity."

Carried away with his arguments, Harrell forgot to mention that luckily we have analyzed three letters from the word "Yeshua" (Jesus). The δ18O of the patina sampled from the other letters was very negative, -10.2 permil (for the letter "Shin" of "Yeshua") and -7.7 permil (for the letter "Vav"). Only the last letter ("Ain") had a normal value; hence, our interpretation for this phenomenon is not the result of bias but the only logical possibility.

6. "For the moment, all we can say is that the oxygen isotope results are equally consistent with two possible interpretations:

1. The inscription is a modern forgery that was coated with faked patina; OR

2. The inscription is ancient but was cleaned in modern times with the coating produced either inadvertently as a result of cleaning or intentionally to disguise the cleaning."

Both options suggested by Harrell agree with our conclusion that the "letters' patina" was not formed under natural conditions that prevailed in the Jerusalem area in the last 2000 years. Therefore, the title of his article "flawed geochemistry used to condemn James inscription" is strange/puzzling, to say the least.

_______________

Notes:

[1] Bar-El,Y., Durst, R., Katz, G., Zislin, J., and Knobler, H.Y. “Jerusalem syndrome.” The British Journal of Psychiatry 176 (2000): 86-90.

[2] Gaon, B. “Blazing stones.” Ma’ariv daily newspaper, 6 Mar. 2003 (Hebrew).

[3] Bordreuil, P., Israel, F., and Pardee, D. “Deux ostraca paléo-hébreux de la Collection Sh. Moussaieff.” Semitica 46 (1996): 49-76. Bordreuil, P., Israel, F., and Pardee, D. “King’s command and Widow’s Plea. Two new Hebrew ostraca of the Biblical Period.” Near Eastern Archaeology 61 (1998): 2-13.

[4] Shanks, H. “Three Shekels for the Lord, ancient inscription records gift to Solomon’s Temple.” Biblical Archaeology Review Nov./Dec. 1997:28-32. Shanks, H. “The ‘Three Shekels’ and ‘Widow’s Plea’ ostraca: real or fake?” Biblical Archaeology Review May/June 2003:40-45.

[5] Hornytzkyj, S. “Preliminary analysis report on six terracotta artefacts.” (1997) Unpublished report submitted by Microfocus Oy laboratory, Helsinki. (6 text pages + 8 figures and graphs).

[6] Shanks, 1997 (above, note 4).

[7] Gaon, 2003 (above, note 2).

[8] Ephal, I., and Naveh, J. “Remarks on the recently published Moussaieff ostraca.” Israel Exploration Journal 48/3-4 (1998): 269-273.

[9] Land, H-T., and Feucht, G. “Expertise, Sample No. PE 257-1, Sample No. PE 257-5.” Undated and unpublished report submitted by Aventis Research & Technologies, Frankfurt (15 text pages including figures and graphs).

[10] From reading the original report (above, note 5), it becomes evident that although modern materials were detected and the crystalline features of the calcite in the patina of the two ostraca differed from those of the reference group, the researcher still suggested that the patina of the former might be original. This was based on the presence of amorphous silica (actually from the opalline phytoliths within the grassy ash) and a siliceous layer coating, the otherwise calcitic patina. However, such composition and microstructure may be created artificially by mixing commercial burnt lime with grass ash (made mostly of opalline phytoliths) because of the pozzuolanic reaction and the formation of calcium-silica gel. The micron-sized bipyramidal structure of the calcite crystals in the ostraca patina, as observed by SEM, indicates their crystallization from burnt lime. For a detailed discussion on these features in plaster products and further references, see: Goren, Y., Goring-Morris, A.N., and Segal, I. “The technology of skull modeling in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB): Regional variability, the relation of technology and iconography and their archaeological implications.” Journal of Archaeological Science 28/7 (2001):671-690.

[11] Shanks, 2003 (above, note 4).

[12] Gaon, 2003 (above, note 2).

[13] Gaon, 2003 (above, note 2).

[14] V. Sussman, personal communication.

[15] Gaon, 2003 (above, note 2).

[16] V. Sussman, personal communication.

[17] Shanks, H., and Witherington III, B. The Brother of Jesus, the Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family. (2003). HarperCollins Publishers, New York, pp. 16-21.

[18] Lemair, A. “Burial box of James the brother of Jesus, earliest archaeological avidence of Jesus found in Jerusalem.” Biblical Archaeology Review Nov./Dec. 2002: 24-33, 70.

[19] Shanks and Witherington III, 2003 (above, note 17), pp. 16-21.

[20] Altman, R. “Official report on the James ossuary.” Bible and Interpretation (2003).

[21] Cross, F.M. “Discussion Between Frank Moore Cross, Andre Lemaire And Hershel Shanks” Biblical Archaeology Society (2003).

[22] Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., and Goren, Y. “Authenticity examination of the inscription on the ossuary attributed to James, brother of Jesus.” Journal of Archaeological Science (in press).

[23] Lemaire, A. “Israel Antiquities Authority report deeply flawed.” Biblical Archaeology Society (2003). Keall, E.J. “New tests bloster case for authenticity.” Biblical Archaeology Society (2003).

[24] Witherington III, B. “Bones of contention, why I still think the bone box is likely to be authentic.” Christianity Today (2003).

[25] For a full and relatively updated review of the James Ossuary affair, see: Ransom, I. Mary and the Ossuary, Beneath the “Brother of Jesus Forgery” (2003). USA: Xlibris Corporation (city of publication unmentioned).

[26] Gaon, 2003 (above, note 2).

[27] Shragai, N. “The Geological Survey: ‘The Jehoash Inscription’ is not a forgery.” Haaretz daily newspaper, 14 Jan. 2003 (Hebrew).

[28] Shanks, H. “Assessing the Jehoash inscription.” Biblical Archaeology Review May/June 2003: 26-31.

[29] Ilani, S., Rosenfeld, A., and Dvorachek, M. “Archaeometry of a stone tablet with Hebrew inscription referring to repair of The House.” Israel Geological Survey Current Research 13 (2002): 109-116.

[30] Shragai, 2003 (above, note 27) quotes some of these fantastic conclusions regarding the gilded temple’s walls burning over the Jehoash inscription (after being set in fire by Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard of Nabuchadnezzar, the King of Babylonia).

[31] Shragai, 2003 (above, note 27).

[32] Cross, F.M. “Notes on the forged plaque recording repairs to the temple.” Israel Exploration Journal 53/1(2003): 119-122. Ephal, I. “The ‘Jehoash Inscription’: a forgery.” Israel Exploration Journal 53/1 (2003): 124-128.

[33] Goren, Y. “The authenticity of the Jehoash inscription: an alternative interpretation.” Bible and Interpretation 2003. Goren, Y. “An alternative interpretation of the stone tablet with ancient Hebrew inscription attributed to Jehoash, King of Judah.” Bible and Interpretation 2003.

[34] Goren, Y., Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., and Schilman, B. “Authenticity Examination of the Jehoash Inscription.” Tel Aviv (2004, in press).

[35] Silberman, N, and Goren, Y. “Faking biblical history, how wishful thinking and technology fooled some scholars – and made fools of others.” Archaeology Sept./Oct. 2003: 20-29.

[36] Harrell, J.A. “Final blow to IAA Report: Flawed geochemistry used to condemn James inscription.” Biblical Archaeology Review Jan./Feb. 2004.

[37]Ayalon, et al. in press (above, note 22).