Sunday, Apr 27, 2003
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The bone box or ossuary which bears the Aramaic inscription, "Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui diYeshua," which, translated reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."
The results of the experiments, which are disclosed in a television documentary, back the suggestion that the "bone box'', or ossuary, may be the oldest archaeological link with Christ. Last year, the tomb ossuary, inscribed with the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus'', came to light in Israel, prompting speculation over whether it was genuine or a fake and whether it referred to Jesus of Nazareth. Since then, the box has been subjected to tests which are consistent with it coming from the right place and the right time, said Ed Keall, a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada. "It is a genuine box with a genuine inscription, dating from first century AD, likely from the Silouan Valley, Jerusalem,'' he said. The findings will revive interest in St James, whose major role in early Christianity has been eclipsed by St Peter and St Paul. He is described in two of the Gospels as the brother of Jesus, but in some traditions he is thought of as merely a cousin. The limestone burial box measures 20 inches by 22 inches by 10 inches and carries a worn pattern of six pointed stars on one side. On the other is an inscription with distinctive letters: "Ya'akov, bar Yosef, akhui di Yeshua'' — James (Ya'akov), son of Joseph (Yosef), brother of Jesus (Yeshua).'' The words are in Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ, and close to ancient Hebrew. The palaeographers date the style of lettering to around 50 AD. This timing is just right for a memorial to St James who, according to the "Jewish Antiquities'' of the historian Josephus, was stoned to death for his beliefs in 62 AD. A team at the Geological Survey of Israel extracted the patina, a cream-coloured film adhering to the stone, and found it matched that inside one of the letters after a study with electron microscopy, as would be expected with the genuine item. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto subjected the inscription to a tougher test, using long-wave ultraviolet light, which should highlight attempts to fake it. Again, it looked genuine, said Dr Keall.
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