Antiquities Dealer to Be Charged With Fraud

An Israeli antiquities collector who claimed he discovered the burial box of Jesus’ brother James will be charged with forgery by the end of the month, a Justice Ministry spokesman says.

The spokesman, Jacob Galanti, said Thursday that the indictment against Oded Golan contained several charges, including forgery, but he declined to elaborate.

Uzi Dahari, the deputy director of Israel’s Antiquities Authority, said six others also would be charged in the case, but Galanti said he was unaware of any additional indictments.

Golan said he is innocent of wrongdoing and had not been told of any charges pending against him.

“I have been legally collecting antiquities for the past 44 years,” he said. “I have received no notification of any indictment or formal charge to date.”

Galanti said prosecutors had to act now because some of the artifacts seized during the investigation would have to be returned to their owners unless charges were filed by Jan. 1.

Golan came to prominence after the October 2002 disclosure of the existence of an ancient ossuary, or burial box, bearing the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”

At the time, the find was touted as one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the modern era, demonstrating a physical connection between the modern world and the Bible.

But the Antiquities Authority concluded the inscription on the 20-inch by 11-inch burial container was a forgery, saying the letters were cut through the ancient patina covering the box.

Golan denied the inscription was forged.

“To the best of my judgment and according to the opinions of many world-renowned experts, the inscription on the James ossuary, which has been in my collection for over 25 years, is genuine,” he said Thursday.

A documentary broadcast on Israeli TV earlier this year described Golan as a talented con man who made millions of dollars selling forged antiquities to gullible buyers around the world.

The deputy head of the fraud squad in the Jerusalem police district, Yoni Pagis, said at the time that “we are talking about dozens of items [produced] in cooperation with a number of people over a period of many years.”

“It’s a real Pandora’s Box,” Pagis said in the documentary. “The scale is huge.”