In his compelling lecture on how a scholar should go about establishing the authenticity of an ancient inscription, whether on an ossuary or in some other form, Barkay provides us with 10 points that need to followed to get to the bottom of the matter. I find myself very much in agreement with what he says. This brief lecture is excellent and is presented on the BAR website. Among other things he stresses that it is too extreme a view to suggest we should ignore unprovenanced artifacts, or simply assume they are forged. Here is the link— see what you think.

http://forgerydownload.webtransit.com/biblical_arch.mp3

If this link does not work go to www.bib-arch.org and look under the James ossuary bits and click on the Gabby Barkay link.