medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

In case anyone is still interested in the box that was being discussed (last
week?) on this list. It has recently been transported to Toronto, Canada for
display in conjuction with three religious conferences; however, in
transport it was damaged. I provide the news-story below.

Yours,
Sara

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Canadian Press ---
Insurance adjuster to assess damage to ancient burial box prior to repairs
November 04, 2002 - 10:53 am


TORONTO (CP) - The owner of a damaged 2,000-year-old archeological relic
that may be the oldest link to Jesus has decided to wait until a report from
his insurance company adjuster before deciding how to proceed with repairs.
A spokesman for the Royal Ontario Museum, which received the James Ossuary
last Thursday, sent the Israeli owner a conservation plan outlining two
options to fix the cracks on the ancient limestone burial box.

Francisco Alvarez said the museum was expecting the adjuster Monday. The
estimated cost of repairs, which will involve injecting adhesive into the
cracks, wasn't released.

The box was damaged in transit from Jerusalem to Canada, where it's
scheduled to be displayed in the museum's Mediterranean World Feature
Exhibition Gallery from Nov. 16 to Dec. 29.

In addition to several previous cracks in the limestone facade, cracks were
sustained on the back, end and front of the ossuary, with one crack
extending through the latter parts of the inscription.

Measuring 51-by-28 centimetres, the box is inscribed in Aramaic with the
words "Ya'akov (James), son of Yosef (Joseph), brother of Yeshua (Jesus)."
It dates from 50 to 70 A.D.

If the box and the inscription are authentic, it could constitute the first
archeological evidence of the existence of Jesus, substantiating a New
Testament account that Jesus had a brother, James, and the tradition that
James was the son of Joseph, husband of Jesus' mother, Mary.

However, it should be noted that the names James, Joseph and Jesus were
common in the first century, and it's possible the inscription refers to
someone besides Jesus of Nazareth.

The owner, whose name has not been revealed, insured the cargo during
transport. The packing and shipping of the box were the responsibility of
the owner, who hired a reputable company to take care of it.

The museum was expecting an answer late Monday or early Tuesday about how to
proceed.

"Assuming that can happen in the next few days we're still on track for Nov.
16 opening," Alvarez said.

The ossuary is valued by some experts at $2 million US. The owner, a private
collector, reportedly bought the box for a few hundred dollars from an Arab
antiquities dealer. He's had it for about 15 years and only recently thought
to have it evaluated.

Alvarez said it was highly unlikely the owner would request the box be
returned to Israel since shipping could cause additional harm.

"Once the pieces are slightly loose any vibration will cause further damage
. . . it'll lose further integrity," he said.

Israel granted a four-month export licence for the ancient burial box Oct.
27 so it could travel to Toronto in time for three gatherings of religious
scholars: the conventions of the Biblical Archaeology Society, the Society
of Biblical Literature and the American Schools of Oriental Research. Nearly
8,000 people are expected to attend.

The museum and the editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, which spilled
the news of the box's existence Oct. 21, wanted the ossuary in time for the
conferences.

"We had an available space for it and we seized an opportunity," Alvarez
said.

Hershel Shanks, the editor of the review, has said the owner did not realize
the box's possible significance.



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