Home›Open Questions›Was the James Ossuary inscription's final clause, brother of Jesus, carved at the same time as the rest of the text, or added to an already ancient box?Open QuestionsWas the James Ossuary inscription's final clause, brother of Jesus, carved at the same time as the rest of the text, or added to an already ancient box?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Was the James Ossuary inscription's final clause, brother of Jesus, carved at the same time as the rest of the text, or added to an already ancient box?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/open-questions-index/was-the-james-ossuary-inscriptions-final-clause-brother-of-jesus-carved-at-the-same-time-as-the-rest-of-the-text-or-added-to-an-already-ancient-box.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Was the James Ossuary inscription's final clause, brother of Jesus, carved at the same time as the rest of the text, or added to an already ancient box?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/open-questions-index/was-the-james-ossuary-inscriptions-final-clause-brother-of-jesus-carved-at-the-same-time-as-the-rest-of-the-text-or-added-to-an-already-ancient-boxCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-was-the-james-ossuary-inscription-s-fina, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Was the James Ossuary inscription's final clause, brother of Jesus, carved at the same time as the rest of the text, or added to an already ancient box?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/open-questions-index/was-the-james-ossuary-inscriptions-final-clause-brother-of-jesus-carved-at-the-same-time-as-the-rest-of-the-text-or-added-to-an-already-ancient-box}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Open QuestionThe rest of the inscription is Lemaire's securely read and palaeographically dated first century text, but the final clause survives only through a chain of contested physical evidence: the Israel Antiquities Authority's 2003 committees read a difference in patina and letter depth at exactly that clause, Oded Golan's 2012 criminal trial ended in acquittal for want of proof rather than a finding that the clause is ancient, and subsequent patina and isotope analyses from scientists on both sides of the case read the same kind of physical evidence in opposite directions.What would resolve this A single non-destructive patina or isotope protocol agreed by laboratories on both sides of the dispute, run on samples taken from across the whole inscription rather than only the disputed clause, with the raw data and method published for independent review rather than each side re-reading data produced under its own protocol.OpenEpigraphy; archaeometry; forensic materials scienceAndre Lemaire, Burial Box of James the Brother of JesusCross-Tradition ConnectionsQuestion OnJames Ossuary, Artifacts & Relics Well-attested Source Burial Box of James the Brother of JesusAndre Lemairetier 2SourcesBurial Box of James the Brother of Jesustier 2Andre Lemaire, Biblical Archaeology Review (28:6), 2002View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year