Court rules state can’t prove Jehoash Tablet fake

The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that the state failed to prove that the tablet was a fake, paving the way for the defendant, antiquities collector Oded Golan, to be cleared of most of the charges against him

Haaretz

The story of the Jehoash Tablet is a rather remarkable one.

So what is the Jehoash Tablet ?

The Jehoash Tablet comprises 15 lines of Hebrew text inscribed on a piece of tabular black stone. It records building repairs to the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem conducted by King Jehoash, who lived a century after Solomon himself had died.

According to the Bible, Solomon built the temple in the 10th century BC and it was destroyed in 586 BC by an invading Babylonian army under the command of Nebuchadnezzar. Before the appearance of the Jehoash Tablet, the temple had been known only from the Bible, but the repairs recorded by the inscription are described in the Bible, and thus the tablet is the first material evidence of the temple and of the truth of the Biblical account.

The Jehoash Tablet first appeared in 2001, when a private investigator acting on behalf of Israeli collector Oded Golan asked the Geological Survey of Israel to determine its authenticity. The Geological Survey analyzed the patina coating the tablet and its inscription, concluding that it was 2,300 years old, and that therefore the inscription must be authentic.

In 2003, the tablet was offered for acquisition to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, but the museum wanted to know its full provenance and place of discovery. The tablet subsequently vanished from view.

Stanford.edu

The Israeli collector Oded Golan was to surface again - this time with another sensational biblical artifact, namely - the James Ossuary.

The James Ossuary

The discovery in question was a chalk ossuary dating from the first century AD carrying the inscription in Aramaic “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”.
Several scholars, including epigraphers and physical scientists, had examined the inscription and assured Shanks that it was genuine (Lemaire 2002).
Dubbed the “James Ossuary”, the identity of its owner was kept secret at first, but several newspapers soon revealed it to be Oded Golan, a Tel Aviv antiquities collector.

Stanford.edu

Even the most optimistic person could see that Golans remarkable good fortune seemed suspicious - particularly since both artifacts were of murky providence.

So it wasn`t too surprising that Oded Golan came under intense scrutiny by the police and Israeli Antiquity Authority (IAA).

In March, 2003 police and IAA officers raided Golan’s apartment and other premises. They found him to be in the possession of the Jehoash inscription, which they seized, along with other documents and material.

They also discovered a large number of unregistered archaeological artifacts, and many artifacts in various stages of fraudulent manufacture (Silberman & Goren 2003, 26). In December 2004, Golan and four other people (Robert Deutsch, Refael Brown, Shlomo Cohen, Faiz el Amlah) were charged with forging artifacts or enhancing genuine artifacts with forged inscriptions (Shanks 2005).
The charges against three of the people were dropped though in May 2008 the trial of Golan and Deutsch was ongoing.

Numerous objects were named in the indictments, including the James Ossuary and the Jehoash inscription.

Stanford.edu

The BBC did an excellent documentary on the Jehoash Tablet entitled King Solomons Tablet Of Stone which was released in September 2004. In the documentary they describe what was found in Golans apartment when they raided it .....

When police searched Golan's apartment they found a hidden workshop filled with tools and half made artefacts.
NARRATOR: There was this large dark stone - very like the stone used for the Temple of Solomon Inscription. Then there were these tools, including a drill and drill bits. And there were also boxes of soil that could be used in a fake patina. But what was most suspicious were the artefacts. Some were in the early stages of preparation, like this casting for a bronze statue. And some appeared finished, like these royal seals, or bullae.

BBC

The documentary concluded by suggesting that ....

The implications of this were immense. Collectors around the world have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for supposedly ancient seals, painted pottery shards and other artefacts that came through Oded Golan's associates.

Dozens of these items have now been examined by Professor Goren, and all have been revealed to be forgeries.

Police now suspect that artefacts made by the same team of forgers have found their way into leading museums around the world.

BBC

BBC: Jehoash Tablet Documentary

King Solomons Tablet Of Stone


So what has happened to Golan and the "artifacts" since then ?

Over the course of seven and a half years, the court heard testimony from 130 witnesses, including dozens of Israel’s most prominent experts in geology, chemistry, microbiology and ancient scripts. In the end, Judge Aharon Farkash ruled that the state had failed to prove its case.

Haaretz

So Oded Golan is cleared of most of the charges - and as if this story hadn`t enough twists and turns in it already - Israel goes to its Supreme Court to seek possession of the tablet - a tablet that it still maintains is a forgery.

Incredible !

After the prosecution read Golan’s response, the state decided to withdraw its appeal and accept his exoneration. But it still wants the Supreme Court to instruct Golan to hand over the Jehoash Tablet at no cost. Even as a fake the state should have it, as an “item used in the commission of an offense,” the prosecution argues.

Haaretz



The State of Israel augments its national identity through its archeological heritage - all nations do - but in Israel its carries a significant political element. Material evidence for the Temple of Solomon would indeed be quite a discovery.

Personally, I think it is a very valuable fake -

What do you think ?

What do you make of the fact, that during the trail the Israeli prosecutor claimed that the inscription on the stone and the treatment of the tablet, had been carried out recently with the intention of deception. However, during the recent proceedings in the trail, the deputy state attorney continued to assert, that the inscription was recent but the stone itself was ancient. (The BBC documentary suggested a possible origin as a ballast stone-) I would imagine that they would be considered as artifacts.

Very strange indeed.

I bet several museums are a little bit nervous - I wonder what percentage of the worlds displayed "ancient artifacts" are fake ?

reply to post by UmbraSumus


I find it intriguing.

It could have easily been faked.

But, I am not sure that either was faked. Damn unfortunate timing to get caught forging items, heh?

Forgers can be very good at their work and produce extremely realistic fakes.

It is quite interesting as you pointed out that they want the "Fake". That is hilarious to say the least and their reasoning is just as funny.

I think there might be a good chance that both artifacts are real.

It would not be the first time that artifacts mentioned in the bible have been found.

reply to post by ShadellacZumbrum


There was a serious amount of expertise involved in the production of the Jehoash Tablet - if its fake. They knew exactly what the experts seeking to authenticate the artifact would look for.

It is still amazing that Golan was caught red-handed, with a workshop full of forgeries in various stages of completion and yet .... he will walk free.

Originally posted by UmbraSumus
What do you make of the fact, that during the trail the Israeli prosecutor claimed that the inscription on the stone and the treatment of the tablet, had been carried out recently with the intention of deception. However, during the recent proceedings in the trail, the deputy state attorney continued to assert, that the inscription was recent but the stone itself was ancient. (The BBC documentary suggested a possible origin as a ballast stone-) I would imagine that they would be considered as artifacts.

Very strange indeed.

I bet several museums are a little bit nervous - I wonder what percentage of the worlds displayed "ancient artifacts" are fake ?

Real or fake, since it was found out of context, it's basically useless either way.

Harte

reply to post by Harte


Still an interesting piece though.
I find the possibilities fascinating.


OP

S & F

Originally posted by UmbraSumus
However, during the recent proceedings in the trail, the deputy state attorney continued to assert, that the inscription was recent but the stone itself was ancient. (The BBC documentary suggested a possible origin as a ballast stone-) I would imagine that they would be considered as artifacts.

Very strange indeed.

It's not strange at all.

Most rocks on Earth is "old" so if you take an old piece of rock and carve an inscription the rock will be dated to be "old" while the inscription will be revealed to be "current", which is exactly what happened when they tested it.

It's a fake. I'm not sure how people can still say "if" even when it was proven. They are being naive.

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by UmbraSumus
However, during the recent proceedings in the trail, the deputy state attorney continued to assert, that the inscription was recent but the stone itself was ancient. (The BBC documentary suggested a possible origin as a ballast stone-) I would imagine that they would be considered as artifacts.

Very strange indeed.

It's not strange at all.

Most rocks on Earth is "old" so if you take an old piece of rock and carve an inscription the rock will be dated to be "old" while the inscription will be revealed to be "current", which is exactly what happened when they tested it.

It's a fake. I'm not sure how people can still say "if" even when it was proven. They are being naive.

With regard the "age" of the rock. Obviously, rocks are old - it was the patina on the surface of the stone that was being debated. Was the patina naturally laid down over centuries or added via some artificial process.

You ask how people can still ask if it is real - ...... your answer is the title of the thread .i.e a court ruling.

I personally thought that Golan was caught red handed - but in the intervening years and culminating in the court findings something has changed. Perhaps it has not meet a sufficient burden of proof (as apposed being found to be a genuine artifact).

So yes, its strange !!!

reply to post by UmbraSumus


According to the documentary on The Jehoash Tablets that you linked, they found the tools and half made artifacts in his apartment. Not only that, but they tested the inscription and it was dated to be inscribed recently.

The only "strange" thing hear is how the court decided that he is still innocent. They are probably biased for religious reasons.

Just imagine if this was an ancient painting. Imagine if he claimed to find the painting, but then they found out that the canvas was old but the paint was recently put on, then they go to his apartment to find paint and old canvas with half-painted ancient arts.

This is the same thing except, instead of recently added paint, it is a recently added inscription.

The court is definitely biased in this case.

reply to post by arpgme


Then we are in agreement - I too believe the tablet is a fake.

Over the course of seven and a half years, the court heard testimony from 130 witnesses, including dozens of Israel’s most prominent experts in geology, chemistry, microbiology and ancient scripts. In the end, Judge Aharon Farkash ruled that the state had failed to prove its case.

All that I can surmise is that the state failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the tablet was a forgery.

But, on the balance of probabilities it looks like the whole enterprise was based on deception and fraud.

________

The quantum leap from the findings in the documentary and later those of the courts seems remarkable. I had watched the documentary some months back and thought that a clear case of faking antiques had been uncovered - so when I saw the Haaretz article entitled Court rules state can’t prove Jehoash Tablet fake - I was taken aback.

Thats what prompted me to create this thread (my first thread in 5 years )

________

This "artifact" has tremendous potential for propaganda in Israel - History and Archeology are the front line is this continuous battle for legitimacy.

___________

While the Tablet can be a great piece of ancient history to support the bible, this is not the intended effect, the effect I can see here is how much money this Tablet will make for a museum when the faithful tourist pour into Israel to see it for themselves.

Money talks and well. . . we all know what goes walking.

Originally posted by marg6043
... the effect I can see here is how much money this Tablet will make for a museum when the faithful tourist pour into Israel to see it for themselves.

Most definitely.


I would imagine that dealers of antiques trade on their reputations more than most professions. Golan was a significant figure in the ancient antiquities market in Israel.

How many forgeries have passed from him on to museums worldwide. This trial has kind of muddied the water.

Surely if he was innocent he would be counter-suing - to restore his good name or some such sentiment.

Nahhh, he will sheepishly slip into the background and count his good luck.

However, I wouldn`t be surprised if he pops up, a decade from now, with the ark of the covenant

i remember watching this years ago and i would say 199 % fake but we are talking about a tribe that can wander in the wilderness for 40 years and not leave a bit of evidense to prove it .

but turns a blind eye to fakery that will put them where they were not

Originally posted by geobro
i remember watching this years ago and i would say 199 % fake but we are talking about a tribe that can wander in the wilderness for 40 years and not leave a bit of evidense to prove it .

but turns a blind eye to fakery that will put them where they were not

I think that there are plenty of Israeli archeologists disappointed with the courts findings. Such fraudulent activities cast a pall over all of their profession -

No doubt everyone involved wanted it to be real (I myself am non-religious but would have seen a genuine Jehoash Tablet as a fascinating addition to the archeological record )

There is tremendous demand for proof of the claims of Biblical Ancient Israel - with such a scarcity of physical evidence - forgeries are inevitable with such a lucrative market.

I thought at least part of the inscription on the ossuary was proven fake?
It says something along the lines of "James brother of Jesus" on it' when the Jewish people don't carve names like that. They would carve James Ben Joseph if he was jesus's brother.
The ossuary was real but the inscription was fraudulent.
It could be the same for the new find, the object could be real but the inscription false or rewritten.

Originally posted by demongoat
I thought at least part of the inscription on the ossuary was proven fake?
It says something along the lines of "James brother of Jesus" on it' when the Jewish people don't carve names like that. They would carve James Ben Joseph if he was jesus's brother.
The ossuary was real but the inscription was fraudulent.
It could be the same for the new find, the object could be real but the inscription false or rewritten.

The inscription was in Aramaic and read, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”.

It seems to be the modus operandi of the forger - the modern- hidden amongst the archaic.