The "James" ossuary
Unprovenanced. The box is ancient; whether the reference to Jesus is ancient is disputed, and an acquittal in court did not settle it.
ContestéObjet1st century AD (inscription disputed)
A limestone bone-box inscribed "James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus". It has no findspot. The Israel Antiquities Authority declared the second half of the inscription a modern forgery and prosecuted the owner; after a seven-year trial he was acquitted of forgery, the court finding the prosecution had not proved its case — which is not the same as the inscription being authenticated.
Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui di Yeshua — James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.
- Découvert
- Unknown — surfaced on the antiquities market, 2002 — No excavation context
- Conservé à
- Private collection, Israel
- Langue
- Aramaic
- Comment il nous est parvenu
- Fouillé, ou encore debout là où il fut bâti.
Ce qu'elle montre
No excavation context, a failed prosecution rather than a positive authentication, and continuing disagreement among epigraphers. All three names were extremely common.
Ce qu'en font les historiens
Widely reported in the press; treated with caution in scholarship because of the provenance and the trial.
Dans l'Écriture
Se rattache à
Sources
Ces textes sont pour l'instant en anglais. Les traductions suivront.