Free Republic

Seven years of trial, evidence from dozens of experts and a 475-page verdict has come no nearer to discovering whether the purported burial box of Jesus' brother James is authentic or a fake. A Jerusalem judge, citing reasonable doubt, acquitted Israeli collector Oded Golan, who was charged with forging the inscription on the box once hailed as the first physical link to Christ.

Israel begins investigation into authenticity of Jesus inscription The Associated Press Mar. 5, 2003 The Israeli Antiquities Authority began studying an ancient stone box on Wednesday in an attempt to determine if it was used to bury Jesus' brother James. If authenticated, it could be the oldest archaeological link to the biblical figures. The box arrived in Israel Wednesday from Toronto, Canada, where it had been on display at the Royal Ontario Museum after Israel's Antiquities Authority granted a temporary export permit to the Israeli owner of the box, Oded Golan. The Antiquities Authority set up two commissions of...

Ancient burial box that may be oldest link to Jesus seriously damaged on the way to Canada By MERITA D. ILO, Associated Press Writer TORONTO - A limestone burial box that may be the oldest archaeological link to Jesus was badly damaged in transit from Israel to Canada, Royal Ontario Museum officials said Friday. Dan Rahimi, the museum's director of collections management, said in a telephone interview the box — called an ossuary — had wide cracks but remained whole. "The box was badly damaged, but still intact. It has not broken," Rahimi said. "It's very serious damage, but not...