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00:00In recent years, a series of extraordinary finds has been made in the Holy Land.
00:09These astonishing discoveries are linked to some of the most famous events in the Bible.
00:16They appear to be new evidence for the burial of Jesus,
00:22and for the legendary Temple of Solomon.
00:25This is something that biblical scholars have been waiting for,
00:31have been dreaming of for many years.
00:34Here is a proof. We can touch it. We can smell it. We can go see it.
00:39This is where we came from.
00:41It's an earthquake, a revolution.
00:46Or is there another darker story behind these mysterious objects?
00:55Jerusalem, the Holy Land's most important city.
01:08For centuries, it's been the center of a flourishing antiquity trade.
01:13Government inspectors try to monitor the trade,
01:16but thousands of artifacts change hands here every day.
01:19Genuine pieces 2,000 or more years old can be bought for a few hundred dollars.
01:27And many collectors have learned not to ask awkward questions
01:30about how the dealer came by them.
01:33And it was here more than 25 years ago, in Jerusalem's antiquity market,
01:39that one of the most remarkable artifacts in the Holy Land's history first came to light.
01:44It was a tiny object, just four centimeters long, badly damaged,
01:52and no one knew where it came from.
01:54But it would be hailed as a unique piece of history.
01:58It became known as the ivory pomegranate.
02:03It was thought to be the ornamental tip of a priest's ceremonial staff.
02:09But what amazed the experts was the inscription.
02:12Holy to the priests of the house of God.
02:22It suggested that this exquisite little ornament was used by priests
02:26in the first temple of Jerusalem,
02:28which, according to the Bible, was built by King Solomon.
02:32If the pomegranate was what its inscription claimed,
02:36it was a revolutionary find.
02:38Before it came to light, there was no independent evidence,
02:41apart from the Bible, that Solomon's temple had actually existed.
02:493,000 years ago, Jerusalem was a small Iron Age city,
02:54whose ambitious king, the Bible tells us,
02:56decided to build a house for his God.
02:59In the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel,
03:02the construction of the temple of the Lord was begun.
03:06The existence of Solomon's temple
03:08is central to traditional Jewish belief.
03:12The house which King Solomon built for the Lord,
03:15the length thereof was three score cubits,
03:17the breadth thereof 20 cubits,
03:20and the height thereof 30 cubits.
03:22Over 12 meters high, and over 30 meters long,
03:25the house of God would have dominated the city and its people.
03:33Since then, Jerusalem has suffered nearly 2,500 years
03:37of turbulent history.
03:42Jews, Christians, and Muslims
03:44all claim a stake in the city
03:46that features so large in the history of their faiths.
03:49A vast Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock,
03:55now occupies the site where Solomon's temple
03:58is presumed to have stood.
04:04According to biblical history,
04:06the temple was destroyed by fire in 586 B.C.
04:09by invaders from Babylon.
04:11The Western Wall,
04:18where Jewish pilgrims now come to pray,
04:20is all that's left of a second temple,
04:23built on the same site as Solomon's temple
04:24by King Herod the Great, 500 years later.
04:30In a country where cultural and territorial rights
04:33are the essence of politics,
04:35the story of Solomon's temple
04:37has special significance for the Jews.
04:39But there's no trace of the temple itself,
04:43and archaeologists are not allowed to dig
04:45in such a politically sensitive area.
04:52Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein
04:54has amassed thousands of artifacts
04:56from that period of history,
04:58but not a fragment of evidence
04:59to back up the Bible's account of Solomon's temple.
05:04There's no archaeological evidence
05:06for the simple reason
05:07that we cannot excavate in a temple mount.
05:10I think also that
05:11even if it was possible
05:14to do something on a temple mount,
05:16there's a big question
05:16whether we could have discovered anything
05:19from the first temple of the biblical times,
05:22because there was a huge building operation there
05:25in the time of Herod the Great,
05:27and there's good reason to think
05:28that everything was eradicated.
05:29So the pomegranate was an extraordinary find.
05:35The tiny artifact with a large chip on one side
05:38was the first physical link
05:40to the lost temple of Solomon.
05:46But was the pomegranate authentic?
05:49In Israel, many genuine antiquities
05:58find their way onto the market
06:00from dubious sources.
06:02Just beyond the walls
06:03of the old city of Jerusalem,
06:05Amir Ganor, chief investigator
06:07for the Israel Antiquities Authority,
06:09is checking an underground tomb
06:11from the time of Jesus,
06:13the first century AD.
06:14Israel has thousands of ancient historic sites.
06:24Many are untouched
06:25and still contain valuable artifacts
06:27from biblical times.
06:29But all too often,
06:30when archaeologists arrive to explore them,
06:33they find that looters have beaten them to it.
06:38This is only one of thousands of caves
06:41that we have here in this area.
06:44And unfortunately,
06:46most of them are looted.
06:49You could see the damage
06:50that they done here.
06:52They took everything.
06:54They destroyed the tomb.
06:59The Holy Land's heritage
07:00is being plundered for cash.
07:04We assume that 95% of the antiquities
07:08that now are in the hands of the dealers,
07:11dealers,
07:12they are stolen property
07:14or they looted.
07:23Most of the loot
07:24is brought to the Jerusalem market
07:26where the ivory pomegranate first appeared.
07:30The man who came across it
07:32in the Jerusalem market
07:33happened to be one of the world's leading experts
07:36on ancient inscriptions.
07:38Professor André Lemaire.
07:40One of the sellers told me,
07:42I know an inscription
07:44which belongs to somebody else
07:46and will you be interested to see it?
07:50He examined it closely.
07:51It is a very small object.
07:53You have to be aware
07:54that it is only about four centimetres high
07:56and the inscription is still smaller,
07:59of course.
08:00And looking at it very carefully,
08:04I found that,
08:05from what I could say,
08:07everything was okay.
08:09There was no problem.
08:10After inspecting the engraved Aramaic text,
08:15Lemaire had no doubt
08:16it was genuine.
08:20He published his report,
08:23declaring it to be authentic
08:24from the 8th century BC,
08:26the time of Solomon's temple.
08:27The tiny pomegranate
08:38would have played a humble part
08:40in the magnificent temple.
08:43It would have been carried on processions
08:45through the two great halls
08:47whose walls were panelled
08:48in sweet-smelling cedar wood.
08:52If the pomegranate belonged
08:53to one of the high priests,
08:55it would have accompanied him
08:56into the temple's inner sanctum,
08:58the Holy of Holies,
09:00where winged cherubim
09:01guarded the Ark of the Covenant
09:03and the towering walls
09:05were encrusted with gold.
09:09But however humble its role
09:11might have been then,
09:13it was now the only artefact
09:14to survive from the temple.
09:22The Israel Museum,
09:24home to a world-renowned collection,
09:26of biblical artefacts,
09:28was now very keen to acquire it.
09:30It was an object of some excitement
09:33because when first identified,
09:36it was considered that it might be
09:38an object directly connected
09:40to the first temple,
09:41to Solomon's temple.
09:43And we really have very little material
09:45that comes from that period
09:46from Jerusalem,
09:48and that can be directly connected
09:50to that moment in history
09:51and to the physical existence
09:53of the temple.
09:55But when the museum tried
09:57to track down the owner,
09:58it ran into a wall.
10:00The pomegranate had already changed hands.
10:04There wasn't a dealer in Israel
10:06who seemed to know where it was.
10:08The word was,
10:09it had been smuggled out of the country.
10:11Then, several years later,
10:19in 1987,
10:21out of the blue,
10:22the museum received
10:23a mysterious phone call.
10:25The pomegranate was now available,
10:34but at a price.
10:36Who wants a million dollars?
10:38Desperate to get their hands
10:39on this unique piece
10:40of Jewish heritage,
10:42the museum bartered the price down
10:44to just over half a million dollars
10:46in cash.
10:47Israel's leading expert
10:52was asked to check it out.
10:54When he, too,
10:55decided it was genuine,
10:56the cash,
10:57provided by an anonymous donor,
10:59was paid into an anonymous
11:01Swiss bank account.
11:05The pomegranate was returned
11:06to Jerusalem.
11:08And there,
11:09in the Israel Museum,
11:10along with such priceless
11:11national treasures
11:12as the Dead Sea Scrolls,
11:14it was given pride of place,
11:16an authentic link
11:17to King Solomon's Temple.
11:28For nearly 20 years,
11:31it was regarded
11:31as the only physical evidence
11:33for the temple.
11:39Then,
11:40in uncannily similar circumstances,
11:43another extraordinary artifact
11:45became headline news.
11:51In 2002,
11:53the chief investigator
11:54for the Israel Antiquities Authority,
11:57Amir Ganor,
11:58was given a special mission
11:59to track down
12:01a brand new piece
12:02of biblical history
12:03that had gone missing.
12:05It was a hunt
12:06that would take him
12:07the length and breadth
12:08of the country
12:08and provide a major scoop
12:10for a young Israeli
12:12newspaper reporter.
12:14The story begins in 2001.
12:17A professor from
12:18the Jerusalem University
12:19receives a call
12:20from a mysterious person
12:22who refuses
12:24to give his real name
12:25and asks this professor
12:27to come to a hotel
12:28in Jerusalem.
12:29He arrives at another professor.
12:31He receives another call
12:33saying,
12:34we are changing
12:35the location
12:35of the meeting.
12:36Please take a taxi
12:37to a different hotel.
12:41A person who
12:42he has never met before
12:43arrives with a briefcase.
12:48The man with the briefcase
12:49claimed to be acting
12:51on behalf of a client.
12:52He couldn't reveal
12:53his client's identity
12:54but was sure
12:56the professors
12:56would be very interested
12:57by what he had brought
12:59to show them.
13:01He opens up
13:03the briefcase,
13:04takes out
13:05a gorgeous piece
13:06of black stone
13:07with an ancient writing
13:09on it
13:10and asks
13:11the two professors
13:12to authenticate
13:13the piece.
13:18The inscription
13:20on the shiny black stone
13:21described repairs
13:23made to the Temple
13:23of Solomon
13:24by a king called
13:26Jehoash
13:26in the 8th century BC.
13:31If it was genuine,
13:33it was priceless.
13:35Like the ivory pomegranate,
13:37it appeared to confirm
13:38that Solomon's Temple
13:39had actually existed.
13:41Better still,
13:42it provided
13:42unique confirmation
13:43of events
13:44described
13:45in the Old Testament.
13:47The professors
13:48wanted to know
13:49who the owner was
13:50and where the object
13:51had come from.
13:55All the stranger
13:56would reveal
13:56was that it had been
13:58found near the Temple Mount.
14:01They wanted to take
14:02the stone,
14:02they wanted to,
14:03you know,
14:04perform a thorough
14:04investigation of it
14:06and to authenticate it
14:08or reveal it
14:08as a forgery.
14:10The person
14:11refused, of course,
14:12to give the stone,
14:13said that's impossible
14:14because of,
14:16you know,
14:16complications.
14:17There was no way
14:19the professors
14:20could properly
14:20authenticate the tablet
14:21after such a brief
14:22examination.
14:24You know,
14:25he takes the stone,
14:25he puts it back
14:26in his briefcase,
14:27he says,
14:28thank you very much
14:29to the two bewildered
14:30professors,
14:31and leaves them
14:32behind in the
14:32Jerusalem lobby.
14:33The place
14:41where the tablet
14:41had allegedly
14:42been found
14:43was at the foot
14:44of the Temple Mount,
14:46the heart of
14:46Old Jerusalem,
14:47where,
14:48according to legend,
14:49Solomon's Temple
14:50once stood.
14:51But how could
14:56anyone be sure
14:57that a blackened
14:58stone,
14:59allegedly found
15:00in a pile of rubble,
15:02was a genuine
15:023,000-year-old relic?
15:08The owner,
15:09whoever he was,
15:11realized this,
15:12for shortly afterwards,
15:13other experts
15:14were secretly
15:15approached by intermediaries
15:16and asked if they
15:18could authenticate
15:18the tablet.
15:21One of them,
15:23geologist Amnon Rosenfeld,
15:25has spent his
15:26working life
15:26studying the rocks
15:28around Jerusalem
15:29used by masons
15:30and engravers
15:30in biblical times.
15:33We were asked
15:35to examine
15:36something that
15:38should be kept secret
15:40called the
15:41Joash tablet.
15:44Our starting point
15:45was that this
15:46is a fake
15:48and we should
15:49find some
15:50signature
15:51of a forgery.
15:54Dr Rosenfeld
15:55and his colleagues
15:56were allowed
15:57to examine
15:57the stone
15:58over several months
15:59in his lab
16:00at the Geological
16:01Survey of Israel.
16:02We couldn't find
16:04anything
16:04that lead us
16:05to the conclusion
16:07that it's a forgery.
16:09We find
16:10many criteria
16:11that point out
16:13that it might
16:15be an authentic
16:16inscription.
16:17If the tablet
16:20was genuine,
16:21it was precisely
16:22what Jewish
16:23archaeologists
16:24have been seeking
16:25for ages.
16:26I was very excited
16:28because this type
16:29of inscription
16:30is something
16:32that biblical scholars
16:33have been waiting
16:34for,
16:35have been hoping
16:36for,
16:36have been dreaming
16:37of for many years.
16:40The inscription
16:46on the tablet
16:47corroborated the Bible's
16:49account of how
16:49King Jehoash
16:50decided to refurbish
16:52the temple.
16:53The Book of Kings
16:54tells us that repairs
16:55were needed to the building,
16:57which would by then
16:58have been over
16:59a hundred years old.
17:00...from his benefactor.
17:02They in turn
17:02shall strengthen
17:04the damage
17:04in the house,
17:05wherever damage
17:06may be found.
17:07And this is how
17:10the tablet
17:10records those events.
17:12I repaired
17:14the construction
17:15and I made
17:17the repairs
17:17in the temple
17:18and the walls
17:19all around
17:20and the side buildings
17:21and the lattice work
17:22and the trap doors
17:24and the recesses
17:24and the doors.
17:26And I think
17:27that we're speaking
17:27about the same
17:28royal act
17:29of repairs
17:29in the temple
17:30and the language
17:34is also
17:34rather similar.
17:35Meanwhile,
17:38analysis of the tablet
17:39by the scientists
17:40had revealed more.
17:42They found the surface
17:43contained tiny flecks
17:44of charcoal,
17:45which proved
17:46to be over
17:472,000 years old.
17:50And they found
17:51tiny specks of gold,
17:54just what might be expected
17:55if it had survived
17:57a fire
17:57when the gold-encrusted
17:59temple of Solomon
18:00was destroyed.
18:00The astonishing revelation
18:12was widely regarded
18:14as proof
18:14that the tablet
18:15was genuine.
18:17Everyone was
18:18downfounded
18:19by this discovery.
18:21I mean,
18:21it was like
18:21an alien spacecraft
18:23landing
18:24in the middle
18:25of Jerusalem.
18:26Here's a stone
18:27with an inscription
18:28that is actually
18:28quoted from
18:29the Jewish Bible.
18:30And that proves
18:31that a Jewish temple
18:32actually stood
18:34in Jerusalem.
18:35Here is a proof
18:36that our national
18:37heritage can be
18:39basically,
18:41you know,
18:41we can touch it,
18:42we can smell it,
18:43we can go see it,
18:44we can take our children.
18:45This is where
18:46we came from.
18:47The Israel Antiquities
18:49Authority
18:49urgently wanted
18:50to know
18:51how the owner,
18:52whoever he was,
18:53had come by
18:54an artifact
18:54of such national
18:55and historical significance.
18:57Amir Ganor,
19:00the authority's
19:01chief investigator,
19:02pumped his contacts
19:03in the market
19:04for information.
19:06He suspected
19:07it had been
19:08illegally looted.
19:11But the word
19:12on the street
19:13told a different story,
19:15as journalist
19:16Boaz Gohan
19:16soon discovered.
19:18I traveled
19:18to Jerusalem
19:19and started
19:20to dig
19:20and try and find out
19:21who the owner
19:23of this new tablet is.
19:24and the people
19:26in the antique industry
19:28who, you know,
19:30do not like
19:31to expose
19:31their identity,
19:33they told me
19:35straight away
19:35that they think
19:36it's a hoax.
19:40Whether it was a hoax
19:41or loot
19:42or the genuine article,
19:45Amir Ganor
19:45was determined
19:46to track down
19:47the owner
19:47and the tablet itself,
19:49which had now
19:50disappeared again.
19:52He had many rumors
19:53to follow,
19:54but it would take
19:54a long time
19:55to get a clear picture.
19:57We spent three months
19:59on the road
19:59to try to find
20:03this tablet.
20:05The months
20:06of detective work
20:07finally led him
20:08to Tel Aviv,
20:10Israel's
20:10modern commercial capital.
20:15And,
20:16in a fashionable
20:17residential quarter,
20:18to the home
20:19of a businessman.
20:19one of Israel's
20:22leading antiquity
20:23collectors,
20:25Oded Golan.
20:29Golan has been
20:30collecting ancient
20:31artifacts
20:31since he was a boy.
20:34Here,
20:35you are looking
20:36now
20:36at the oldest,
20:39the most ancient
20:39dictionary
20:40ever found
20:41in the world.
20:43I found it
20:44when I was
20:44ten years old.
20:45He admitted
20:46he had been
20:47helping to sell
20:48the missing stone
20:48tablet,
20:49but denied
20:49he had ever
20:50been its owner.
20:52He was a dealer,
20:52Palestinian dealer,
20:53who had a shop
20:54in East Jerusalem.
20:56Abu Yasser
20:57was his nickname.
20:59I didn't have
21:00enough money
21:00to buy it.
21:02And he asked me
21:02if I can help him
21:03to sell it
21:04or to offer it
21:05to somebody,
21:05and I had actually
21:07only one condition.
21:08It should stay
21:09in the museum
21:10for the public.
21:12How much
21:12was he asking for it?
21:13Several hundred
21:14thousands of dollars.
21:18But the authorities
21:19were not convinced
21:20by the story,
21:21and what made them
21:22highly suspicious
21:23was that the same
21:25collector,
21:26Odette Golan,
21:27had recently been
21:28involved in another
21:29sensational discovery
21:30that had suddenly
21:31appeared.
21:31in the vast collection
21:44of ancient treasures
21:45held by the Israel
21:46Antiquities Authority,
21:48there are hundreds
21:49of stone boxes,
21:51all dating back
21:52to the time of Jesus.
21:54Simply engraved,
21:56some bearing a name
21:58in Hebrew or Greek,
22:00they had a macabre
22:01purpose.
22:02They are ossuries,
22:04receptacles for storing
22:06the bones of the dead.
22:12In 2002,
22:14one of these
22:15ancient bone boxes
22:16became the center
22:17of worldwide media
22:18attention.
22:21Ya'kov
22:21Ba'ach Yosef
22:23Akidei Yeshua.
22:26The inscription
22:27translates as
22:28James, son of Joseph,
22:30brother of Jesus.
22:32For these familiar names
22:34from the New Testament
22:35to appear together
22:36seemed a remarkable
22:38coincidence.
22:39The ancient bone box
22:41was hailed as the final
22:42resting place
22:43of St. James,
22:44the brother of Jesus
22:46of Nazareth,
22:47and the first
22:48archaeological evidence
22:50linked to Jesus
22:51himself.
22:52It caused a sensation
22:54and was viewed
22:55by nearly 100,000 people
22:57at the Royal Ontario
22:58Museum in Toronto.
23:01Another
23:02extraordinary
23:03biblical artifact.
23:05And its owner
23:07was Odette Galan.
23:11Two dramatic artifacts
23:14discovered in the space
23:15of six months
23:16by the same
23:16collector.
23:18This was very,
23:19very difficult to believe.
23:20I mean,
23:21you know,
23:21what's next?
23:22The shoes of Muhammad?
23:25I have to admit
23:26that it sounds
23:26quite strange.
23:28But if you have
23:29the good contacts,
23:30the good relationship,
23:32you get the good stuff.
23:33It's very simple.
23:34He claimed
23:35he had owned
23:36the ossuary for years.
23:38In the mid-70s,
23:40I bought several
23:41ossuaries,
23:42actually three,
23:43and I bought it
23:45in East Jerusalem.
23:47So why
23:48had it taken him
23:4930 years
23:49to realize
23:50the possible
23:51significance
23:52of the inscription?
23:53The first person
23:54who actually
23:55gave me
23:56the idea
23:57that it could
23:58belong
23:59to the family
23:59of Jesus Christ
24:00was Professor
24:02André Lamer.
24:04Back in the 1980s,
24:07Professor Lamer
24:07had been responsible
24:09for authenticating
24:10the ivory pomegranate.
24:12Twenty years later,
24:14his reputation
24:15as an expert
24:15in ancient inscriptions
24:17proved valuable
24:18to Odette Golan.
24:19I was amazed
24:21with the name
24:21and mainly
24:22with the appellation
24:24brother of Yeshua,
24:27James,
24:28the brother of Jesus.
24:30For me,
24:31there is no problem
24:32about the fact
24:33that the inscription
24:34is genuine.
24:36Professor Lamer's opinion
24:37that the inscription
24:38was genuine
24:39transformed the brother
24:40of Jesus' ossuary
24:41into an archaeological
24:43sensation.
24:44But not every expert
24:47was convinced
24:47the inscription
24:48was authentic.
24:50I laughed.
24:52I couldn't believe it.
24:53You've got to be kidding.
24:54It's not the same script.
24:56It's not even
24:57a complete script design.
25:00To Dr. Rochelle Altman,
25:02it seemed
25:03that the inscription
25:04had been cobbled together
25:05from bits
25:05of genuine inscriptions.
25:08She thought
25:09the first part
25:09of the inscription,
25:10James,
25:11son of Joseph,
25:12was probably authentic.
25:13but that
25:14the brother of Jesus
25:16had been added later
25:17by another hand.
25:19The Yaakov bar Yosef
25:21is original.
25:25This is the ossuary
25:27of this man.
25:29And all of a sudden,
25:30here's this.
25:31And this is
25:31a totally different script.
25:33It's made out
25:34of different pieces
25:35and pastes together.
25:36And that's exactly
25:37what we have here.
25:38This is obviously a fake.
25:40With allegations
25:46of fakery flying around,
25:48the authorities
25:48decided to crack down.
25:50Police and antiquities
25:52authority agents
25:53raided Oded Golan's home.
25:55They found
25:56an incriminating photograph
25:57of the collector
25:58clutching the missing
25:59Jehoash tablet,
26:01which he had always
26:02denied owning.
26:02They made him
26:06hand it over,
26:07then confiscated
26:08the ossuary too.
26:10The artifacts
26:11and their collector
26:12were about
26:14to be subjected
26:14to intensive scrutiny.
26:16The Israel Antiquities
26:21Authority set up
26:23a task force
26:23to decide
26:24on the authenticity
26:25of both objects.
26:27In charge
26:28of the scientific
26:28investigation
26:29was Professor
26:30Yuval Gorin
26:31of Tel Aviv University.
26:34He began
26:35with the stone tablet.
26:37He wanted
26:38to establish
26:39whether it could
26:39have come
26:40from the site
26:40of Solomon's temple
26:41on the temple mount.
26:44The stone surface
26:46should provide
26:46valuable clues.
26:48Over time,
26:49all objects
26:50develop a patina,
26:51a thin crust
26:52bonded to their surface.
26:54It's created
26:55by chemical reactions
26:56between the object
26:57and its environment.
27:00But when Gorin
27:02examined the patina,
27:03he found
27:04that it was different
27:05on the front
27:05and the back
27:06of the stone.
27:10The patina on the front
27:11did indeed appear
27:12to come from Jerusalem.
27:16But instead of
27:16being bonded
27:17to the stone,
27:18it lifted off
27:19quite easily.
27:21The patina
27:21is very loosely
27:22connected to the stone.
27:26Here you can see
27:27how it reacts
27:28to me scraping it
27:31with a matchstick.
27:33And you can see
27:34that it easily
27:34peels off the letters
27:36as opposed again
27:37to the patina
27:38on the back side.
27:40The patina
27:40on the back
27:41was different
27:42and appeared
27:43not to come
27:43from Jerusalem
27:44at all.
27:50He concluded
27:51that someone
27:52had taken
27:52an old stone
27:53from somewhere else
27:54and carved
27:55an inscription
27:56on the front
27:57which had then
27:58been concealed
27:59under a new
27:59artificial patina.
28:03He could even
28:04see evidence
28:05that the carving
28:05was recent.
28:06when the letters
28:10are cleared
28:11the inner part
28:13of the letters
28:14is exposed
28:15and as you can see
28:17here
28:17it is very freshly cut.
28:20You can see
28:20even the little lines
28:22the little parallel lines
28:24of either the chisel
28:25or even maybe
28:27some drill
28:28some electric bit
28:30or drill
28:31with which the letters
28:32were engraved
28:33which is of course
28:34very unusual
28:34for ancient inscriptions.
28:38And what of
28:38the ancient charcoal
28:40and traces of gold
28:41which had convinced
28:42earlier scientists?
28:45Goron concluded
28:45they had simply
28:46been added
28:47to the artificial patina
28:48applied to the front
28:49of the stone.
28:51And therefore
28:51I believe
28:52that the inscription
28:53is not genuine.
28:57Then he turned
28:58to the brother
28:59of Jesus ossuary.
29:01The bone box
29:02itself appears
29:03to be genuine.
29:03The stone
29:05was covered
29:05by a chalky patina
29:06just what
29:08he'd expect
29:08if it had spent
29:10many years
29:10in an underground tomb.
29:12But the patina
29:13in the grooves
29:14of the inscription
29:15was different.
29:17Like the Joash tablet
29:18it was not
29:19firmly bonded
29:20to the surface.
29:22It looked
29:23as if the engraver
29:24had cut through
29:25the original patina
29:26then filled in
29:27the grooves
29:28with a new material
29:29to make it look ancient.
29:30on June the 18th
29:332003
29:34the Israel Antiquities
29:36Authority
29:37goes public.
29:38Both objects
29:39are declared fake.
29:41Certainly
29:41that the patina
29:42in the letters
29:42in both items
29:43is a modern forgery.
29:45It hits the headlines
29:46worldwide.
29:48Experts
29:49who authenticated
29:50the artifacts
29:51have their names
29:52dragged through the mud.
29:53It was manipulated
29:56it was
29:57it was
29:58really very
29:59very politicized.
30:01For me
30:01it's clear
30:02it is not a forgery.
30:06But more damning
30:08evidence
30:08now comes to light
30:09when police
30:10and authority
30:10inspectors
30:11raid
30:12Oded Golan's
30:13premises again.
30:16They find
30:16engraving tools
30:17chemicals
30:18and soil samples
30:19taken from sites
30:20all over Israel.
30:23together with
30:25scores of artifacts
30:26many look
30:28freshly minted
30:29or half finished.
30:32They confiscated
30:34several tools
30:34that I had
30:35in my home.
30:37These kind of tools
30:38have existed
30:39in the hands
30:40of any collector
30:41and any dealer
30:42in Israel.
30:44But the evidence
30:45leads to Golan
30:46being charged
30:47on 15 counts
30:48of forgery
30:48and fraud.
30:50Four other dealers
30:51are accused
30:51of being accomplices.
30:52I never forged
30:54anything in my life.
30:55Of course
30:56I shall have
30:57to defend myself
30:58but they have
30:58nothing to do
30:59with forgeries
31:00at all.
31:04Three years on
31:05the prosecution
31:06of Oded Golan
31:07on fraud
31:08and forgery charges
31:09continues.
31:12And there's
31:13still no end
31:13in sight.
31:14But whoever
31:19was responsible
31:20it seems
31:21a sophisticated
31:22fraud
31:23is beginning
31:23to unravel.
31:26The scandal
31:27has provoked
31:27anxiety
31:28about every artifact
31:29supposedly
31:30from biblical times
31:31that has come
31:32from dealers
31:33or sources unknown.
31:35Could they all
31:35be forgeries?
31:38Yuval Gorin
31:39has checked
31:39scores of items
31:40that museums
31:41and collectors
31:42have acquired
31:43spread on the market.
31:44He has concluded
31:45that almost all
31:46of them
31:47are fake.
31:49Some archaeologists
31:50believe there's
31:51only one answer
31:52to the problem.
31:53The antiquity trade
31:54should be shut down
31:56and its products
31:57should be shunned.
31:58Objects must come
32:00from an archaeological
32:01excavation done
32:04by archaeologists.
32:05Then they are genuine,
32:07there's no question
32:08about them,
32:09then they are okay,
32:10they can use them
32:10for historical research.
32:12Even whatever comes
32:13from the market
32:13is forgery
32:14until otherwise proven.
32:17This is a country
32:18where the antiquities market
32:20has been thriving
32:21ever since medieval
32:22crusaders came hunting
32:23for holy relics.
32:26Some shops
32:27are as old
32:28as the antiquities
32:28they sell.
32:30But in this city
32:31the buyer should beware
32:32and assume
32:33that if material
32:34isn't looted
32:35it's probably fake.
32:37Although not
32:38in this shop
32:39of course.
32:41Rabbi,
32:41where do you
32:41get your antiquities
32:42from?
32:45Well,
32:46probably you should
32:47ask my dad
32:47about this.
32:49I inherited them
32:50really from my family.
32:53We used to get them
32:54from the people
32:55they dig
32:55but not anymore.
32:57Why not?
32:58Not allowed
32:59against the rules
33:00here in Israel.
33:03Not allowed
33:04to buy
33:05from people
33:05they dig.
33:07Whether an artifact
33:08is genuine
33:09or looted
33:10or fake
33:11there are ways
33:12of enhancing
33:13its market value.
33:15The collectors
33:16always
33:17want special things.
33:20This is authentic jar.
33:22This is from
33:23the Iron Age
33:24from the 7th century BC.
33:28If it's ordinary jar
33:29without any decoration
33:30or inscription
33:31it will cost
33:32something between
33:33$700 to $1,000.
33:36But if someone
33:37add some inscription
33:39here in ancient Hebrew
33:41it will be cost
33:42hundreds of thousands
33:43of dollars.
33:44adding an inscription
33:47is less work
33:48and less expensive
33:48than faking
33:50a whole artifact.
33:52And as investigators
33:53have uncovered
33:54more fakes
33:55they feel
33:56a pattern
33:56is emerging
33:57of ancient objects
33:59being embellished
34:00with inscriptions
34:01to enhance their value
34:02and historical significance.
34:04they even have a good idea
34:07how forgers
34:08are producing
34:08inscriptions
34:09good enough
34:10to fool the experts
34:11using a standard
34:13reference book
34:14published by
34:15the Israel Antiquities
34:16Authority.
34:19Details of inscriptions
34:20from genuine artifacts
34:22are copied precisely
34:23then reassembled
34:25as the template
34:26for a new engraving.
34:27This is Yaakov
34:30James
34:31in ancient Hebrew.
34:36Next
34:36son of Yosef
34:38To create
34:42brother of Jesus
34:44letters are taken
34:45from several
34:46ancient sources
34:47to complete
34:48the template.
34:50James
34:50son of Joseph
34:52brother of Jesus
34:54and it looks
34:55completely authentic.
34:57any artifact
35:02of unknown origin
35:03with a compelling
35:04inscription
35:04has now become
35:06suspect.
35:09So it was
35:10inevitable
35:11that attention
35:12would return
35:13to that priceless
35:14object
35:14in the Israel Museum
35:16the ivory pomegranate.
35:20The pomegranate
35:22was now the only
35:23item believed
35:24to have survived
35:24from Solomon's
35:25legendary temple.
35:27over 25 years
35:31had passed
35:32since the pomegranate
35:33had first been
35:34authenticated
35:35by one of the world's
35:36experts on ancient
35:37inscriptions
35:37Professor André Lemaire.
35:40Since then
35:41experts had discovered
35:42that it wasn't
35:43actually made
35:44of elephant ivory
35:45but came
35:47from a quite
35:47different beast.
35:48It is a little
35:53pomegranate
35:54made of
35:55tooth
35:56of
35:56hippopotamus.
35:58But the big
35:58question was
35:59did the pomegranate
36:01really come
36:01from Solomon's
36:02temple?
36:04When Professor
36:05Gorin examined
36:06the surface
36:06of the pomegranate
36:07he saw little
36:08to suggest
36:09that it was not
36:09a genuine
36:10artifact.
36:12You can see
36:12that it is
36:13old
36:13it is worn.
36:16There were signs
36:17of a few repairs
36:18traces of
36:19what looks
36:20like glue
36:20but the
36:21patina
36:22looked ancient.
36:25Then
36:25he turned
36:26his attention
36:26to the inscription.
36:28Kodesh
36:29Kohanim
36:29Lebeit Adonai
36:30which means
36:32holy to the
36:33priests
36:33of the
36:34house of
36:34God.
36:35And this
36:35is why
36:36this pomegranate
36:36was considered
36:37to be
36:38from the
36:38Solomonic
36:39temple.
36:40But the
36:41pomegranate
36:41was badly
36:42damaged
36:42sometime
36:43in its
36:43history.
36:44You can
36:44see the
36:45break
36:46that took
36:46off about
36:47a third
36:47of the
36:47body
36:48of the
36:48pomegranate.
36:49Most
36:50of the
36:50inscription
36:50is intact
36:51but a
36:52large chunk
36:53is missing.
36:55The letters
36:56that are
36:56supposed to
36:57spell out
36:57house of
36:58God
36:58are just
36:59fragments
37:00on the
37:00border
37:00of the
37:01break.
37:02It was
37:03these
37:03that
37:03caught
37:04Goren's
37:04attention.
37:06He noticed
37:06that the
37:07grooves
37:07cut by
37:08the
37:08engraver
37:08appeared
37:09to stop
37:09short
37:10of the
37:10break
37:10which
37:11was
37:11odd.
37:12He
37:12would
37:13have
37:13expected
37:13them
37:14to be
37:14sliced
37:14cleanly
37:15when
37:15the
37:15pomegranate
37:16was
37:16damaged.
37:17The
37:17lines
37:17are
37:18ending
37:18before
37:19the
37:19edge
37:20of
37:20the
37:20break
37:20which
37:21means
37:21that
37:21whoever
37:22engraved
37:22it
37:22was
37:23very
37:23careful
37:23not
37:24to
37:24make
37:25other
37:26breaks
37:27into
37:27the
37:27old
37:28break.
37:28It
37:29looked
37:29to
37:30Goran
37:30as
37:30if
37:30the
37:31inscription
37:31had
37:31been
37:32engraved
37:32after
37:33the
37:33pomegranate
37:33had
37:34been
37:34damaged.
37:36It
37:36is
37:36clear
37:36when
37:37you
37:37look
37:37at it
37:37through
37:37the
37:37microscope
37:38that
37:39the
37:39inscription
37:40was
37:40engraved
37:40on it
37:41when
37:41it
37:42was
37:42already
37:42broken.
37:43So
37:44someone
37:44must
37:45have
37:45added
37:46the
37:46inscription
37:46to
37:47boost
37:47the
37:47pomegranate's
37:48value.
37:49It
37:49is
37:50probably
37:51a
37:51fake.
37:51It's
37:51probably
37:52a
37:52forgery.
37:54But
37:54Goran's
37:54analysis
37:55makes
37:55no
37:55sense
37:56to
37:56the
37:58Pomegranate
37:58is
38:00authentic.
38:00It
38:01is
38:01ancient.
38:01The
38:02inscription
38:02was
38:03most
38:04likely
38:04engraved
38:05in
38:06modern
38:06times.
38:07Yuval Goran
38:08is
38:08working
38:09out
38:09of
38:10his
38:10field.
38:11And
38:12in
38:12this
38:12case,
38:13even
38:13if it
38:14is a
38:14professor
38:15at
38:15the
38:15university,
38:16if
38:16somebody
38:17is
38:17working
38:17out
38:18of
38:18his
38:18specialty,
38:19he
38:21is
38:21not
38:21especially
38:22to
38:24be
38:26trusted.
38:26But
38:28the man
38:28who
38:28first
38:29authenticated
38:29the
38:29pomegranate
38:30now
38:30finds
38:31himself
38:31in
38:31a
38:31very
38:32small
38:32minority.
38:34The
38:34pomegranate
38:34has been
38:35declared
38:36a fake
38:36and removed
38:37from display
38:38in the
38:38Israel
38:38Museum.
38:44But
38:45there's no
38:45let-up
38:46in the
38:46sensational
38:47claims.
38:49Jerusalem
38:49can prove
38:50a nightmare
38:50for archaeologists
38:51with major
38:52monuments
38:53of three
38:53religions
38:54crowding
38:54on top
38:55of each
38:55other.
38:58And in
38:59a quiet
38:59residential
39:00quarter
39:00called
39:00Talpiot,
39:01apartment
39:02blocks
39:02overlook
39:03one of
39:03the most
39:03contentious
39:04archaeological
39:05sites
39:05in the
39:05world.
39:07In a
39:08tiny
39:08rose
39:09garden,
39:10a large
39:10concrete
39:11slab
39:11conceals
39:12the entrance
39:13to a
39:132,000-year-old
39:14tomb.
39:17The crudely
39:18built structure
39:18offers no
39:19clue to the
39:20potential
39:20importance
39:21of what
39:21lies beneath.
39:24Cut into the
39:25rocky hillside,
39:25the tomb
39:26was discovered
39:27accidentally
39:28in 1980,
39:29when the
39:30whole area
39:30was still
39:31a construction
39:31site.
39:34Before it
39:35could disappear
39:35under the
39:36new buildings,
39:37a small
39:37team of
39:38archaeologists
39:38was allowed
39:39to examine
39:39the tomb
39:40and its
39:40contents.
39:42Among them
39:42was Shimon
39:43Gibson,
39:44then 21
39:44years old.
39:46His job
39:47was to map
39:47the inside
39:48of the tomb.
39:51Under the
39:51cement slab
39:52is a shaft
39:53which descends
39:54for a couple
39:56of meters
39:57down into
39:57the ground.
39:59At the
39:59bottom of
39:59the shaft
40:00is an
40:00opening
40:01which is
40:01situated here
40:02which leads
40:03into a
40:04burial chamber
40:04which is
40:05still intact.
40:06It's really
40:07nice.
40:07After 27
40:07years,
40:08the tomb
40:09is still
40:09here.
40:10The tomb
40:10itself was
40:11full of
40:12soil,
40:13at least
40:13up to
40:13knee level
40:14at the
40:15time of
40:15the excavation
40:16which meant
40:17that the
40:18door had
40:18been opened
40:18in antiquity
40:19and that
40:20soil had
40:21flowed in
40:21to the
40:23cave itself
40:23so this
40:24wasn't an
40:25intact
40:25tomb.
40:27Questions
40:27about when
40:28it was
40:29broken into
40:29have recently
40:31ignited speculation
40:32about what
40:32the tomb
40:33originally
40:33contained.
40:35Since they
40:35were discovered,
40:37the ossuries
40:37from the tomb
40:38have been kept
40:39at the
40:39antiquities
40:40authority
40:40store.
40:41It was
40:42there,
40:4227 years
40:43later in
40:442007,
40:45that the
40:45names
40:46inscribed on
40:46the ossuries
40:47provoked
40:48intense media
40:49speculation
40:50about the
40:50occupants
40:51of the
40:51tomb.
40:52Most of
40:53the names
40:53are well
40:54known from
40:54the New
40:54Testament
40:55of the
40:55Bible.
40:57Maryamme,
40:58a form
40:58of Mary,
40:59Mary Magdalene
41:00perhaps,
41:02Jose,
41:02a short
41:03form of
41:03Joseph,
41:05Maria,
41:06another
41:06Mary,
41:07and then,
41:08most astonishing
41:09of all,
41:10Yeshua
41:10bar
41:11Joseph,
41:12Jesus,
41:13son of
41:14Joseph.
41:15Could this
41:16be the
41:17resting place
41:17of Jesus
41:18himself?
41:21The suggestion
41:22that this
41:23might be
41:23the tomb
41:24of the
41:24family of
41:24Jesus
41:25received
41:26worldwide
41:26publicity.
41:29Now the
41:30man involved
41:31in the
41:31original
41:32excavation
41:33wants to
41:33examine
41:33the tomb
41:34again.
41:36Anything
41:36which is
41:37sealed up
41:37creates a
41:38kind of
41:38atmosphere
41:39of conspiracy.
41:41So I
41:41think opening
41:42up the slab
41:42and allowing
41:43cameras to
41:44go down
41:45and to
41:45have a look
41:45at the tomb
41:46would be
41:46a good
41:47thing.
41:49Permission
41:49has been
41:50given to
41:50examine the
41:51tomb,
41:51but it
41:52soon becomes
41:53clear that
41:53some residents
41:54don't want
41:55an excavation
41:55in their
41:56backyard.
41:57there's a lot
42:07of emotion.
42:09It highlights
42:09the problems
42:10that can arise
42:11for archaeologists
42:12in a country
42:13where religious
42:13passions run
42:14high.
42:14he's going
42:15to call the
42:16police that
42:16he doesn't
42:17want us
42:18excavating.
42:20And he's
42:21quite angry.
42:24Pressing on
42:25now could
42:26provoke a
42:27worse disturbance.
42:28So the
42:29Talpiot
42:29tomb remains
42:30sealed.
42:32But from
42:32the map
42:33Gibson drew
42:34of the tomb
42:34when it was
42:35opened,
42:35we can still
42:36get a good
42:37idea of how
42:37the remains
42:38of the
42:38family were
42:39laid out.
42:39there were
42:43bones and
42:44skulls lying
42:45on the
42:45floor.
42:46The
42:47ossuries lay
42:48in small
42:48chambers cut
42:49into the
42:50walls of
42:50the tomb.
42:51The one
42:52bearing the
42:52name Jesus
42:53son of
42:54Joseph was
42:55one of the
42:55smallest,
42:56tucked in
42:56the back
42:57of one
42:57chamber.
43:02Most
43:02archaeologists
43:03are very
43:04skeptical that
43:05this could
43:06have been
43:06Jesus of
43:07Nazareth.
43:08One thing
43:09I can tell
43:09you for
43:10certain,
43:10and that
43:10is that
43:11there were
43:11no remains
43:12of a
43:13crucified
43:13man in
43:14this tomb.
43:15And the
43:15coincidence of
43:16the names,
43:17however striking,
43:18fails to
43:19impress
43:19specialists in
43:20this period
43:21of history.
43:22These names
43:23are extremely
43:24common among
43:25the local
43:25Jewish population
43:26in the time
43:27of Jesus.
43:28It's also
43:29problematic
43:29because everything
43:30that we know
43:31about Jesus
43:32and his
43:32family indicates
43:33that they
43:33were a
43:34relatively
43:34poor
43:34family who
43:35could not
43:36have afforded
43:37a rock-cut
43:37tomb.
43:38If they
43:39had owned
43:40a rock-cut
43:40tomb,
43:41presumably it
43:42would have
43:42been in
43:42Nazareth,
43:43their hometown,
43:44not in
43:45Jerusalem.
43:46We have good
43:46evidence for
43:47this from
43:48other wealthy
43:49families around
43:50the country.
43:51And while the
43:52historical
43:53controversy rages,
43:55some scientists
43:55think it would
43:56be a good
43:57idea to
43:57re-examine the
43:58osseers that
43:59came from the
44:00disturbed tomb.
44:02American
44:02researchers now
44:03want to subject
44:04them to
44:05forensic-style
44:05scrutiny,
44:06especially the
44:07most controversial
44:08Jesus-son-of-Joseph
44:10inscription.
44:11Because it
44:11looks like these
44:12scratches are
44:13new.
44:14They wonder
44:15whether dirt
44:16that's been
44:16impacted in the
44:17inscription could
44:18be concealing
44:19signs of recent
44:20tampering.
44:21We're actually
44:22trying to remove
44:23some of the
44:23soil that's been
44:26impacted in the
44:26inscriptions and
44:27scratches.
44:28Not only that,
44:29try to remove the
44:30soil safely as not
44:32to destroy any
44:32patina.
44:33The grooves of
44:35the inscription
44:35contain traces of
44:36mud, which have
44:38to be removed if
44:39they are to examine
44:40the inscription in
44:41detail.
44:42It seems that
44:43Jesus, son of
44:44Joseph, may not be
44:45the only name
44:46engraved on the
44:47box.
44:48It appears that
44:48the name Yeshua,
44:50if this is the
44:50actual name, because
44:51it's a very
44:51difficult name to
44:52read, is not the
44:54original name on
44:55this osseuary.
44:56Yeshua appears to
44:57be superinscribed
44:58over an earlier
45:00name that appeared
45:01before that.
45:02It could be
45:03something like
45:03Yudan, Hanun, or
45:05a number of
45:06possibilities, but
45:07Yeshua was not
45:09the first one in
45:09the osseuary.
45:11The name Yeshua
45:13by Yosef, Jesus,
45:15son of Joseph, has
45:16been inscribed very
45:17crudely and
45:18incorporates some of
45:19the underlying
45:20inscription.
45:22Could this have an
45:22innocent explanation?
45:24Or has Jesus been
45:26carved later as a
45:27deliberate deception
45:28by adding a few
45:29extra strokes, then
45:31using mud to make
45:32them look older?
45:33Yeah, it's coming,
45:34it is coming away
45:35there.
45:35Maybe you're right
45:36about the mud here
45:38that was put as a
45:40disguise, you know,
45:41to cover up things.
45:43The existence of this
45:44hardened mud inside,
45:46we have to look for
45:47some explanation for it
45:48because we don't
45:49really have a good
45:49explanation yet, but
45:51that's what we're in
45:51the process of doing
45:52is trying to figure out
45:54if this hardened mud
45:55was something that
45:57somebody pressed into
45:58the inscription in order
46:00to make it look better
46:01or whatever.
46:02It's not very clear yet.
46:04So now you're starting
46:05to get some of the
46:05patina away.
46:07If we're able to
46:08remove the mud successfully
46:10without damaging the
46:11inscription itself,
46:13this would hope to at
46:14least dispel any ideas
46:16that this has any
46:18problems in terms of
46:19some kind of tampering.
46:21But these questions
46:34are not likely to be
46:35answered just yet.
46:37Worried that removing
46:38the mud might risk
46:39harming the ossuary's
46:40delicate patina,
46:41the Israel Antiquities
46:43Authority has now
46:44called a halt to
46:45further investigation.
46:48But whatever the
46:49eventual conclusions
46:50about tampering,
46:51the scientists'
46:52concerns are symptomatic
46:54of the widespread
46:55anxiety and alarm
46:56caused by recent
46:58revelations of
46:58fakery and fraud.
47:00I do think that
47:01the recent sensational
47:03claims have made a
47:05mockery of the
47:06discipline of archaeology.
47:13When a real and
47:15important archaeological
47:16find is made,
47:17the public are unable
47:18to evaluate whether
47:20it's true or false.
47:21In a country where
47:25three powerful religions
47:26stake their claim to be
47:28the heirs of history,
47:29where believers will
47:30seize on any evidence
47:31that backs up their
47:32faith, archaeologists
47:34have a tough job
47:36separating fiction from
47:37fact.
47:38this matters a lot to us
47:44if we ever want to live in a
47:46real world, because what we
47:47have is fiction invading the
47:50real world.
47:50It stains archaeological research,
47:53it stains no reconstruction of
47:58biblical history, and there is a
48:00whole, a complete
48:02contamination of our
48:03research.
48:04fact, and I think that we need to make a
48:06statement against this.
48:09As scores of fake artifacts have been sold
48:11around the world, academic reputations
48:14have been trashed, and millions of dollars
48:17have changed hands.
48:18But it's not just museums and wealthy collectors
48:21who are being defrauded.
48:22Distorting history has profound
48:26consequences for everyone.
48:28You know, you feel betrayed.
48:30You feel that you were deceived.
48:33It's one thing to lie about something
48:35that is not important to people,
48:37and it's something that's to lie about
48:39something that is intrinsic to their
48:42identity.
49:13Transcription by CastingWords
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