Authenticity examination of the inscription on the ossuary attributed to James, brother of Jesus

Abstract

Abstract A First Century CE ossuary belonging to a private collector, bearing engraved Aramaic inscription “Ya'akov bar Yosef achui de Yeshua” (James son of Joseph his brother of Jesus), has been attributed to James, Jesus' brother, first head of the Jerusalem church. The ossuary was reportedly found around Jerusalem. Previous examination suggested that the ossuary and the inscription were genuine. Our research focuses on the authenticity of the patina that covers the inscription (“letters patina”), based on its petrography and oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O). We compared the δ18O values of the letters patina from the James Ossuary, with the patina sampled from the uninscribed surfaces of the same item (“surface patina”), and with surface and letters patinas from legally excavated ossuaries from Jerusalem. In addition, the results were compared with δ18O values of carbonates formed naturally from groundwater in the Judean Mountains. Our results show that the petrography and the δ18O values of the letters patina of the James Ossuary differ significantly from the other patinas. The oxygen isotopic composition of the letters patina could not have formed under natural temperature and water oxygen isotope composition that prevailed in Judea during the last 3000 years. The patina was most likely artificially formed from powdered chalk immersed in hot water. These observations clearly call into question the authenticity of the inscription on “James Ossuary”.