James Ossuary Owner Under Arrest - Archaeology Magazine Archive


James Ossuary Owner Under Arrest	July 22, 2003
by Kristin M. Romey

Ossuary owner Oded Golan (AP) [LARGER IMAGE]

The Associated Press reports that James Ossuary owner Oded Golan was arrested Monday on suspicion of forgery and dealing in fake antiquities. At a hearing in Jerusalem court, police displayed partially completed "antiquities" allegedly discovered in Golan's Tel Aviv home. The 51-year-old engineer is being held on a four-day detention order at a Jerusalem police lockup and is not available for comment.

In March of this year, a court-ordered search warrant revealed a storage space rented by Golan in a Tel Aviv suburb that contained forged ancient seals and inscriptions in various stages of production, engraving tools, and labeled bags of soil from excavations sites around the country.