James Ossuary: DNA tests planned for 2027 on bones from disputed 'brother of Jesus' burial chest

Right · 2A roughly 2,000-year-old limestone burial chest known as the James Ossuary, about one foot nine inches long and ten inches wide, is being hailed by some scholars as a possible link to the family of Jesus. 1 2 Right · 2It bears an Aramaic inscription reading 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus', and bone fragments have been recovered from inside it. 1 2 Right · 2Biblical scholar Dr Jeremiah Johnston and a team of experts plan to carry out DNA analysis on the bone fragments in 2027, so the tests have been announced rather than completed. 1 2

Right · 1Johnston told the Daily Mail: 'If it is truly his, we are looking at the only known archaeological artifact directly connected to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.' 1 Right · 2The inscription has been controversial for decades: in 2003 the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) declared it a modern forgery carved into a genuine ancient burial box. 1 2 Right · 2Its owner, Israeli collector Oded Golan, who says he bought it in the 1970s, was accused of adding 'brother of Jesus' and applying a false coating to make the lettering look old; he was acquitted of forgery in 2012, though the judge stressed the verdict did not establish the inscription's authenticity or any link to the biblical Jesus. 1 2

Right · 2Johnston argues the acquittal and the backing of leading inscription experts support authenticity, and rejects the idea that a later Christian added the words, saying the practice of collecting bones in ossuaries ended in Jerusalem after AD 70. 1 2 Right · 2He also cites the historian Josephus, who recorded the stoning of James, 'the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ', in AD 62, and says bones gathered about a year later fit the ossuary's style and epigraphy. 1 2 Right · 2Johnston said handwriting expert Ada Yardeni defended the inscription in court, and a 1976 family photograph showing the box with the inscription was part of Golan's defence; a photographic expert testified the paper and fading matched its age with no sign of tampering. 1 2

Right · 2Scientific opinion was split: two Geological Survey of Israel researchers initially supported authenticity, but the agency later endorsed findings that the mineral coating inside the letters could not have formed naturally in the region. 1 2 Right · 2Johnston stops short of certainty, saying: 'not absolute certainty, but historical probability'. Both outlets said they had contacted the IAA for comment. 1 2