 the james ossuary is a 1st-century chalk box that was used for containing the bones of the dead. the aramaic inscription: ya'akov bar-yosef akhui diyeshua (english translation: "james, son of joseph, brother of jesus") is cut into one side of the box. the inscription is considered significant because, if genuine, it might provide archeological evidence of jesus of nazareth. the existence of the ossuary was announced at an october 21, 2002 washington press conference co-hosted by the discovery channel and the biblical archaeology society. the owner of the ossuary is oded golan, an israeli engineer and antiquities collector. the initial translation of the inscription was done by andrÃ© lemaire, a semitic epigrapher, whose article claiming that the ossuary and its inscription were authentic was published in the november/december 2002 biblical archaeology review. authenticity of the inscription has been challenged. the israeli antiquities authority (iaa) determined in 2003 that the inscriptions were forged at a much later date.james d. tabor, the jesus dynasty: the hidden history of jesus, his royal family, and the birth of christianity, simon and schuster, 2006 pp 6-36 in december 2004, oded golan was charged with 44 counts of forgery, fraud and deception, including forgery of the ossuary inscription. the trial lasted seven years before judg
2002_in_Israel Academic_scandals Aramaic_inscriptions Early_Christian_inscriptions Forgery_controversies Inscriptions_of_disputed_origin Ossuaries Royal_Ontario_Museum