An Israeli court today acquitted two men who had been charged with forging an artifact that they said was an ancient burial container for the bones of James, the brother of Jesus.
Eric Meyers Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor of Judaic Studies at Duke University and director of the university's Center for Jewish StudiesWebsite: http://religiondepartment.duke.edu/people?Gurl=%2Faas%2FReligion&Uil=emc&subpage=profileVideo: http://ondemand.duke.edu/video/28801/archaeology-bible-politics-and Meyers has led and participated in archaeological digs in Israel for more than three decades. He is co-editor of the forthcoming book "Archaeology, Bible, Politics and the Media."Quotes:"Because the government, in this case the Israel Antiquities Authority and Israel police, failed to prove that the artifacts in question were inauthentic in no way means that they are authentic."Burial in an ossuary was a common form of inhumation in late Second Temple times that continued on for some time after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE in the Galilee."