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Witherington, a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, is not convinced, at least by what he's seen in the two-page summary, which is all that has been released so far. "The commission report is incomplete, and possibly inaccurate," he told Christianity Today.

"They did not take into account all of the detailed and meticulous work that the Royal Ontario Museum did after the museum exhibit closed in January," Witherington maintains. "For example, under an electron microscope they found surface marks, which are deeply cut scratches that go through the box and through the letters. And these are ancient."

"They've obviously done some very good work as well," he adds. He says he will await the full report before making his conclusions.

Shanks believes there are some political and personal ramifications to the decision. Many archeologists don't like the way he handled the whole ossuary discovery and other incidents in the past. "Dorfman hates me," he says. "He won't speak to me; that's inexplicable to me."

Shanks still has confidence in the ROM experts and the original study by the Israel Geological Survey, as well as the work of "the world's leading epigraphists" he consulted. "But if they're all wrong, so be it. Let's find the forger and put him in jail."

Neither Shanks nor Witherington would accuse Golan of the forgery, noting the abuse and criticism that he's weathered. Witherington calls him an indiscriminate collector: "He has a zeal for artifacts that's not necessarily always according to knowledge."

But Duke University archaeologist Eric Meyers, a past president of the American Schools of Oriental Research, notes that Golan is under police investigation. "They found labeled boxes of dirt from every region of the country that was used to make and forge patina. I think he's a central figure here."

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See Wednesday's Christianity Today Weblog for more coverage of the IAA report. Articles published since then include:

• Why I am not yet convinced the ossuary inscription is a forgery | The debunkers' 'proof' rests in the hands of one scientist—and a powerful group that wants to discredit antiquities collectors (Hershel Shanks, Beliefnet)
  
  
• Oh, brother | Much hype ensued when an artifact connected to Jesus was found, but now it's official—the Jesus Ossuary is a fake. The story of an artifact way ahead of its time (Jewsweek)
  
  
• What 'Jesus hoax' could mean for Mideast antiques | Once hailed as Biblical proof, forged antiquities now raise questions about other artifacts in Israeli museums (The Christian Science Monitor)
  
  
• Jesus link called a fake | An inscription on an ancient burial box is a modern forgery, experts say (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• Agency: inscription citing Jesus is fake | Writing on ancient burial box recent, Israeli antiquities official says (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Burial box of Jesus' brother ruled a fraud (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Israelis say burial box of Jesus' brother is fake (The New York Times)
  
  
• Ossuary lettering tied to Jesus called fake | Israel's finding disagrees with others' conclusions (The Baltimore Sun)
  
  
• Proof in the patina? | Politics and Personal Vendetta May Have Muddied the Case of Jesus Artifact (ABC News)
  
  
• ROM was right to stir debate | The writing on the James Ossuary may be wrong, but the Royal Ontario Museum's decision to display it was right (The Toronto Star)
  
  

Our earlier coverage of the ossuary and tablet includes:

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June (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47