The James Ossuary, which is claimed to contain the remains of Jesus’s brother, James, is on display in Atlanta. The Ossuary is part of the “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures from the Holy Land” exhibit at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta. The ossuary is a first-century limestone box owned by Israeli entrepreneur Oded Golan and includes the Aramaic inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” At the time he purchased the box, Golan could not read the inscription and did not understand the significance of the words. “I bought it when I was a student of engineering in Israel, and I didn’t recognize its importance at all,” he said. A scholar later translated it for Golan, signifying he could have a major archaeological find. Golan has said he bought the Ossuary from a dealer who stated it was found in Silwan (Kidron Valley area) in Jerusalem.

The Ossuary, however, has remained controversial. While experts do agree the box dates to the first century, the actual dating of the inscription has been debated. In 2005, Golan was accused of forging a number of first century artifacts, including adding “brother of Jesus” to the “James, son of Joseph” inscription on the Ossuary. After seven years, Golan was finally acquitted of all charges. Although Golan was cleared of all charges, the judge was quick to state this did not mean that the Ossuary and other items were real, saying the decision, “does not mean that the inscription on the ossuary is authentic or that it was written 2,000 years ago. This will continue to be studied by scientists and archaeologists, and time will tell. Moreover, it was not proven in any way that the words ‘the brother of Jesus’ necessarily refer to the ‘Jesus’ who appears in Christian writings,” he ruled.

Golan has stood by the authenticity of his collection. “If you put it into account all these elements together, it’s almost sure that this ossuary belonged to James, the brother of Jesus… We did several chemical tests to the ossuary, and especially to the inscription itself, which is the more important element in the ossuary, and we proved that the whole inscription is authentic. It was engraved several thousand years ago,” he said. If the Ossuary is authentic, it would be the oldest witness to the family of Jesus. James, the brother of Jesus and son of Mary and Joseph, would become a n important leader in the early church after Jesus’s death and would contribute the book of James to the New Testament. James is also mentioned in the book of Acts written by Paul. The James Ossuary will be on display in Atlanta until January 31.