The Ossuary of James

This container provides the only New Testament-era mention of the central figure of Christianity and is the first-ever archaeological discovery to corroborate Biblical references to Jesus.
Hershel Shanks, Biblical Archaeological Review (Friedman, 2002)

And it's a fake.

An ossuary is a bone box. Due to the high population of the area, when a family member died they were buried, then later dug up and their bones placed in an ossuary.

The James ossuary is a 20 inch long box with the inscription (in Aramaic)

"Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui di Yeshua"
James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus

The ossuary itself is authentic and dates 10 to 70 CE.

Testing by the Geological Survey of Israel confirmed that the limestone is from the Jerusalem area, quarried in the first and second century CE. Microscopic analysis matched the surface patina (a film of chemicals which forms on stone over time) to the patina in the grooves of the inscription. This indicates that the ossuary and the inscription are the same age. The patina did not contain any modern elements and is consistent with cave burial. There were no signs of modern tool marks.

The problem is the inscription. It is fake. The inscription is divided into two distinct parts:

James, son of Joseph
brother of Jesus

The "brother of Jesus" section was added separately (Channel4.com, 2003).

So "the only New Testament-era mention of the central figure of Christianity" is nothing more than another hoax.

 

 

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