In 2002 one of these ancient bone boxes became the centre of world-wide media attention ... James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. The ancient bone-box was hailed as the final resting place for St James, the brother of Jesus of Nazareth. And the first archaeological evidence linked to Jesus himself. It caused a sensation ... And its owner was Oded Golan. ibid.
Oded Golan: Golan has been collecting ancient artefacts since he was a boy. He admitted he had been helping to sell the missing stone tablet but denied he had ever been its owner. But authorities were not convinced by the story. And what made them highly suspicious was that the same collector Oded Golan had recently been involved with another sensational discovery that suddenly appeared. ibid.
With allegations of fakery flying around, the authorities decided to crack down. Police and Antiquity Authority agents raided Oded Golan’s home. They found an incriminating photograph of the collector clutching the missing Jehoash tablet, which he had always denied owning. They made him hand it over then confiscated the ossuary too. The artefacts and their collector were about to be subjected to intensive scrutiny ... In charge of the investigation was Professor Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University. He began with the stone tablet ... But when Goren examined the patina he found it was different on the front to the back of the stone. The patina on the front did indeed appear to come from Jerusalem but instead of being bonded to the stone, it lifted off quite easily.
He [Goren] concluded that someone had taken an old stone from somewhere else and carved an inscription on the front which had then been concealed under a new artificial patina. He could even see evidence that the carving was recent. And what of the ancient charcoal and traces of gold which had convinced earlier scientists? Goren concluded they had simply been added to the artificial patina applied to the front of the stone. ibid.
The he turned to the Brother of Jesus Ossuary. The bone-box itself appears to be genuine. The stone was covered by a chalky patina. Just what he’d expect if it had spent many years in an underground tomb. But the patina in the grooves of the inscription was different. Like the Jehoash Tablet it was not firmly bonded to the surface. It looked as if the engraver had cut through the original patina then filled in the grooves with a new material to make it look ancient. On June 18th 2003 the Israel Antiquities Authority goes public. Both objects are declared fake. It hits the headlines worldwide. Experts who authenticated the artefacts have their names dragged through the mud. ibid.
But more damning evidence comes to light when police and authority inspectors raid Oded Golan’s premises again. They find engraving tools, chemicals and soil samples taken from sites all over Israel together with scores of artefacts; many look freshly minted or half finished. ibid.
So it was inevitable that attention would return to that priceless object in the Israel Museum, the Ivory Pomegranate ... Experts have discovered it wasn’t actually made of elephant ivory, but came from a quite different beast ... Then he [Goren] turned his attention to the inscription ... He noticed that the grooves cut by the engraver appeared to stop short of the break. ibid.
Israel July 2001: In Jerusalem a clandestine meeting is about to take place ... What appears to be an ancient stone tablet. It has an inscription written in ancient Hebrew ... If genuine, it could be the only proof of the fabled Temple of King Solomon. Secrets of the Bible s1e7: The Temple of Solomon Mystery, PBS 2014
The Jehoash Tablet is a fake ... They even find half-finished antiques ... The collector is arrested. ibid.
Antique documents worth millions. Techniques that fooled America’s greatest experts. A master-plan so profound it takes years to unfold. And a brilliant mind driven to the absolute edge. The Man Who Forged America, 2003
1980 Salt Lake City Utah. Home of the Mormon Church. The setting for a discovery that sent shockwaves around America. Mark Hofmann, a first year medical student, has brought an old Bible. Stuck between its pages is a mysterious document ... The long-lost Anthon transcript. ibid.
Hofmann sells his amazing find to the Mormon Church for $20,000. ibid.
Hofmann makes another incredibly find. He unearths three Joseph Smith letters that he sells for $95,000. The money pours in. ibid.
Over the next year Hofmann makes more apparent discoveries including documents of national importance from the hand of Daniel Boone, Abe Lincoln, George Washington and Jack London. His fame spreads. The Mormon Church believes he is touched by God. ibid.
The world’s most astounding series of forgeries. ibid.
Over six hundred extraordinary forgeries. ibid.
He creates the Salamander letter, the first in a series of controversial documents that threatens the very foundation of the Mormon Church. ibid.
Hofmann now travels east ... He creates an entirely new persona for himself. ibid.
Hofmann poses as an innocent history buff. ibid.
The Oath of a Freeman ... His asking price $1.5 million. He has reached the pinnacle of the forger’s art. ibid.
And it isn’t long before some of his disgruntled investors get ugly. ibid.
Hofmann targets [Mac] Christensen because he was about to expose Hormann’s financial dealings. ibid.
As investigators circle closer to Hofmann as their killer the case throws a cloud of doubt over the Church’s documents and others Hofmann has sold from coast to coast. News report cited ibid.
His [Mark Hofmann] great desire in life was to fool the experts. Robert Stott, prosecutor
Mark Hofmann was a forger and shrewd observer of human behaviour. Like any good con-man, he knew part of his success manufacturing and selling fake historical documents depended on willing victims – people who wanted to believe his claims.
Growing up Mormon, Hofmann realized he was surrounded by credulous people who were trained to trust those who presented themselves as authorities ...
From his years of poking around old documents and studying church history, Hofmann knew there were skeletons in the Mormon closet. Authentic LDS history is far murkier than the official version. He also knew the church was interested in acquiring potentially embarrassing documents so they could suppress them ...
So Hofmann concocted the ‘Salamander letter’, an account of Joseph Smith encountering a talking salamander that turned into an angel. The forgery neatly connected the Smith family’s occult practices with the origins of Mormonism ...
How is it that church leaders could meet several times with Mark Hofmann and never discern the dark spirit inside him? How could they not recognize the devil within their midst? And how many times before had they failed at similar challenges? How many more times would they fail? ...
What about the church’s document experts? Well, they turned out not to be so expert.
Before Hofmann started blowing up people, the church trumpeted the Salamander letter as a marvelous, wonderful new find while carefully spinning its content. After law enforcement forgery experts declared the Salamander letter a fake, however, the brethren had to spin their way back out without making it look like they had been duped and swindled. Furthermore, they resisted cooperating with the investigation out of fear their ineptitude would be further exposed.
The Hofmann case was a shameful moment of ecclesiastical bungling. I don’t imagine it’s an isolated case. The brethren work pretty much in secret, with no checks and balances, answering to no one, except each other and the still, small voices they hear in their heads. Stray Mutt, board post ‘For Newbies and Lurking TBMs – A Review of the Hofmann Case’
A massive plan so profound it takes years to unfold. And a brilliant mind driven to the absolute edge. 1980: Salt Lake City, Utah: home of the Mormon Church setting for a discovery that sends shockwaves throughout America. Mark Hofmann, a first year medical student, has purchased an old Bible; stuck between its pages is a mysterious document … a long lost Anthon transcript … ‘One of the great historical finds of Mormon history.’ Masterminds s1e1: The Anthon Forgeries, History 2011
Hofmann sells his amazing find to the Mormon church for $20,000. ibid.
Six months later Hofmann makes another incredible find: he unearths three Joseph Smith letters that he sells for $95,000. ibid.
Including documents of national importance. ibid.
He has created over 600 extraordinary forgeries. ibid.
He creates the ‘Salamander Letter’: the first of a series of controversial documents that threatens the very foundation of the Mormon faith. ibid.
Hofmann targets [Steven] Christensen because he was about to expose Hofmann’s financial dealings. ibid.
Hundreds of fake paintings. Millions of dollars and a master forger who changed the history of art itself. Masterminds e16: The Forger’s Art
In 1986 the iron-clad system of provenance failed spectacularly as a master criminal fooled the world’s greatest art experts. And executed the most sophisticated forgery scam in the history of modern art. ibid.
Drewe now reinvents himself as a cultured art expert to get the respect he craves ... In the back pages of Private Eye magazine he uncovers a starving artist with the skills he needs: John Myatt. ibid.
‘I just thought to myself this is too good to be true.’ ibid. John Myatt
Drewe is not only alienating his wife, but his partner in crime as well ... Drewe’s hold on reality is beginning to slip ... He claims he is actually working for the British Secret Service selling the painting to raise money for covert weapons sales. ibid.
Drewe is finally found guilty and sent to prison for six years. ibid.
Police estimate there are still over a hundred and seventy of his forgeries corrupting collections around the world. ibid.