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Article: Israeli archeologists call ossuary writing fake: link to Jesus' brother James is forgery, they say, but other experts call finding premature. (World).(Column)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- July 4, 2003
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An inscription on an ancient stone burial box suggesting it held the remains of James, the brother of Jesus, is a fake, Israeli archaeological experts say.
The Aramaic inscription on the limestone box, called an ossuary, was deemed genuine last October, when scholars and scientists announced the artifact could provide a link between the Jesus of the Bible and a historical figure named Jesus. If authenticated, the ossuary would have been one of the oldest archaeological references to biblical figures.
The inscription, which reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," originally thought to date to about 63 A.D., was in fact carved over the stone's ...