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 a possible brother of Jesus 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.
The announcement of the discovery of the ossuary, which contained the inscription “James, son of Joseph and brother of Jesus,” was greeted with much excitement as well as scepticism in archaeological circles in 2002.
The Roman Catholic tradition is that what is referred to as Jesus’s brothers and sisters in the Bible were actually cousins; Orthodox Christians believe they were Joseph’s children by a previous marriage. The inscription conflicted with both of those Christian traditions.
However, later examination by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) revealed that while the ossuary itself was ancient, the inscription − which added both its historical significance and monetary value − was not.
Mr Golan was also acquitted of several other charges of forgery but convicted on two minor counts of possession of suspected stolen goods and trading antiquities without a permit.
And some of the charges were dropped because the statute of limitations had expired.
“The indictment... accused Golan of faking antiques in different ways. For certain items, I decided that it was not proven, as required in criminal law, that they were fake. But there is nothing in these findings which necessarily proves that the items were authentic,” said Judge Aharon Farkash.
“All that was determined was that the means, the tools and the science available at present, along with the experts who testified, was not enough to prove the alleged fraud beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.
The IAA, which provided expert testimony describing the objects as fakes, said it respected the court’s decision and pointed out the ruling did not establish that the relics were in fact authentic.
Mr Golan was charged in 2004 with having faked ancient artefacts whose “discovery” in October 2002 was hailed worldwide. He is accused of having tried to sell them for several million dollars to museums or private collectors. In addition to the ossuary, Mr Golan was also charged with counterfeiting a stone tablet he claimed was a vestige of Solomon’s Temple.
Mr Golan always denied any wrongdoing, and said he bought the ossuary for $200 (€150) at an antique shop in Jerusalem’s Old City, although he said he had forgotten exactly where.