Posted on 07/23/2003 4:37:55 AM PDT by Pharmboy
JERUSALEM - Israeli police have arrested an antiquities dealer in connection with two alleged forgeries, including a burial box once thought to belong to the brother of Jesus.
Oded Golan appeared in a Jerusalem court Tuesday, a day after police picked him up at his Tel Aviv home.
Police allege Golan faked an inscription on the so-called James ossuary to make it appear it belonged to the brother of Jesus.
The limestone box is inscribed in Aramaic with the words "Ya'akov (James), son of Yosef (Joseph), brother of Yeshua (Jesus)."
Experts later branded the inscription and a tablet as fakes.
Police showed equipment they said was discovered in Golan's home, including stencils, stones and partially completed forgeries.
Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum was home to the ossuary for two months in late 2002, drawing large crowds. It sustained cracks when it was transported from Israel.
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