A judge in Jerusalem today declared defendants Oded Golan and Robert Deutsch not guilty of charges that they forged an inscription on the James Ossuary. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that the inscription was forged and denounced the Israeli police forensics laboratory for contaminating the ossuary. Matthew Kalman has been covering the trial for the last 7 years. He reports:

Mr. Golan had been accused of adding the second half of the inscription linking it to Jesus, and then fabricating the patina, the bio-organic coating that adheres to ancient objects, to pass it off as genuine.
But Judge Farkash said the prosecution had failed to prove any of the serious charges against Mr. Golan and acquitted him on all but three minor charges of illegal antiquities dealing and possession of stolen antiquities. Robert Deutsch, a co-defendant, was acquitted on all charges.
“The prosecution failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt what was stated in the indictment: that the ossuary is a forgery and that Mr. Golan or someone acting on his behalf forged it,” Judge Farkash told the court, summarizing his 475-page verdict.
He noted that it was the first time a criminal court had been asked to rule in a case of antiquities forgery.
The spectacular collapse of the trial, nine years after Mr. Golan was arrested and thousands of items were seized from his home, office and warehouses in Tel Aviv, was a severe blow to the Israeli police and Israel Antiquities Authority, who claimed they had exposed “the tip of the iceberg” of an international conspiracy selling fake artifacts to collectors and museums worldwide.

Kalman’s full report is here. The judge’s verdict does not prove that the inscription is authentic, but that the 100+ witnesses of the prosecution failed to prove that it was forged. Dan Bahat appears to have been the one behind the 60 Minutes charade to condemn Golan on the basis of testimony of an Egyptian craftsman.

A humbled Israel Antiquities Authority immediately issued a press release.

During the trial the judge was presented with the conclusions of an expert committee of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the universities, which unequivocally established that the finds are forgeries. The court had to decide professional issues in the field of archaeology, which are not frequently heard in a court of law.

In other words, the judge is not competent to decide the case. Their claims that forgery were “unequivocally established” is a slap in the face of the court and indicates that their desperate measures have not ceased.

The release then continues to explain just how this case was a “win” for them and why seven years and significant resources spent was worth it for the public.

Hershel Shanks has written a brief but helpful report with some behind-the-scenes details about the investigation of the ossuary and other disputed artifacts.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the verdict does not prove that (1) the inscription is ancient or (2) the ossuary belonged to someone mentioned in the New Testament or (3) forgeries do not abound in the antiquities market.

Seven years after the trial began, a verdict is scheduled to be announced a week from Wednesday.

From Bible History Daily (BAS):

The Biblical Archaeology Society has learned that Judge Aharon Farkash of the District Court in Jerusalem will announce the verdict on the alleged forgery of the famous James “brother of Jesus” Ossuary on Wednesday, March 14 at 9 a.m. (2 a.m. EST).
After more than seven years, hundreds of exhibits and thousands of pages of testimony, the case against defendants Oded Golan and Robert Deutsch will be decided by the trial judge. The case, which includes allegations of forgery for numerous other artifacts, has accurately been described as the “forgery trial of the century.”

Anyone care to make a prediction? I’m expecting the defendants to walk.

Last year I posted a review of nine world-class scholars who testified in court that they believe the inscription on the James Ossuary is authentic or possibly authentic.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Recent commentary on fraudulent discoveries sometimes includes sideswipes at the ossuary inscription of James, brother of Jesus.  If forgeries are still being manufactured, then obviously the James Ossuary inscription is a forgery is as well, apparently goes the logic.  Recently, Gideon Avni, employee of the Israel Antiquities Authority, published an article in which he argued not that the inscription is a forgery, but that such is old news and we can now look back on the debate as a historical footnote.

Oded Golan, one of those accused of forging the inscription, has written a lengthy defense of the antiquity of the James Ossuary inscription and the Jehoash Tablet.  If he speaks accurately of the testimony at the trial (and I believe that he does), then the situation is entirely different than Avni has portrayed.  He lists nine world-class scholars who testified in court that they believe the inscription is authentic or possibly authentic.


André Lemaire – testified that he has no doubt the entire inscription is ancient.


Ada Yardeni – “If this is a forgery, I quit.”


Haggai Misgav – found no indication of forgery in the inscription.


Shmuel Ahituv – sees no support for the allegation that the inscription is a forgery.


Yosef Naveh – found no indication that the inscription is a forgery.


Y. L. Rahmani – sees no indication that any part of the inscription was forged.


Esther Eshel – testified that her doubts are not based on scientific grounds and cannot rule out the possibility that entire inscription is ancient.


Ronny Reich – “Each of the features of the inscription on its own and together, without exception, indicate that this is an authentic inscription from the late Second Temple Period.”


Gabriel Barkay – knows of no scientific evidence to doubt the authenticity of the entire ossuary inscription.

In short, one can maintain that (part of) the inscription is a forgery, but it is inaccurate to claim that all or even most scholars in the field hold this position.  Golan observes that Yuval Goren, one of the earliest and most vocal advocates of forgery, re-visited his study and identified ancient patina in the one letter of the word “Jesus.”  He concluded in his court testimony, “Therefore, ultimately, if you are asking me here to draw some conclusion, the conclusion is that I am undecided.  I am deliberating.”

According to Golan, at the conclusion of the closing arguments, the prosecutor observed that the State would probably dismiss the forgery charges concerning the James Ossuary if the indictment did not also include other charges.

Whether or not the inscription refers to two figures mentioned in the New Testament is a separate issue, but it seems clear that there is no consensus that the James Ossuary inscription is forged. 

Indeed, the best scholars in the field are on record testifying to its authenticity.  Accepting that the entire inscription may be ancient does not require one to believe that Golan is an honest individual, that antiquities trade should continue, or that forgeries are not prolific and profitable.