>The trial over the authenticity of the James Ossuary is continuing in Jerusalem. The James ossuary is the burial box which many scholars believe contained the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. Some Israeli archaeologists and the Israeli Antiquities Authority have declared the ossuary to be a fake while others believe on its authenticity.

In a report written by Stuart Laidlaw and published in the Toronto Star on Sunday, July 2, 2006, Laidlaw reports on the study done by Wolfgang Krumbien, an internationally recognized expert on patina from the University of Oldenburg in Germany.

Laidlaw wrote:

In a report that the review’s editor Hershel Shanks called a “bombshell” in the Jerusalem Post last month, Wolfgang Krumbien articulated the growing concerns of many experts about the antiquities authority tests.

An internationally recognized expert on patina from the University of Oldenburg in Germany, Krumbien declared that the tests done by the authority were “irrelevant” and should never have been conducted.

Isotopic tests, he wrote in a report prepared for Golan’s defence team, can only be used when [sic] on objects stored in ideal cave conditions and at steady temperatures.

But there is plenty of evidence that the James ossuary was not kept in such conditions. In fact, Krumbien found, it is likely that wherever the ossuary spent much of the past 2,000 years, there was either a flood or a cave-in of the wall of the tomb, which damaged the ossuary.

“The cave in which the James ossuary was placed, either collapsed centuries earlier, or alluvial deposits penetrated the chamber together with water and buried the ossuary, either completely or partially,” he wrote.

As well, he wrote, he was able to find microscopic bits of patina within the inscription that matched the patina on the outside of the box, indicating that the lettering dated to the origins of the ossuary itself.

He attributed Goren’s failure to find the patina to aggressive cleanings that removed almost all the patina from the lettering.

Israeli authorities have declined to comment on Krumbien’s report. This trial may not decide the authenticity of the ossuary, however, it may go a long way in encouraging further tests by specialists outside the Israeli Antiquities Authority’s control.

The James ossuary has become the center of international controversy. The Israeli Antiquities Authority has declared the ossuary and two other important archaeological artifacts to be frauds. If the Israeli court decides against the Israeli Antiquities Authority, it is possible an unbiased examination of this important archaeological discovery eventually will prove that the James ossuary may actually have contained the bones of Jesus’ brother.

To read Laidlaw’s report, click here.

Claude F. Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, James ossuary