Oded Golan

Oded Golan (Hebrew: עודד גולן‎‎) (born 1951 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli engineer, entrepreneur, and antiquities collector. He owns one of the largest collections of Biblical archaeology in the world.

Some of the artifacts in his collection have produced great excitement in religious and archaeological circles, including the James Ossuary (the bone box of James, brother of Jesus), which achieved international fame in 2002, after world-renowned experts confirmed the authenticity of the writing inscribed on it. Another famous item from Golan's collection is the Jehoash Tablet, a monumental 16-line commemorative inscription in ancient Hebrew. After its publication, the date of the Tablet became a topic of debate among scholars.

Golan was accused by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) of involvement in the forgery of one half of the James Ossuary inscription, the Jehoash Inscription and other items. Golan denied any involvement in forgery, and argued that he purchased the two items from licensed antiquities dealers in 1976 and 1999 respectively, and to the best of his understanding, the inscriptions are ancient.

Four other defendants were indicted along with Golan, including two of the largest antiquities dealers in Israel. In 2012, the court acquitted Golan of all charges of forgery and fraud, but convicted of illegal trading in antiquities. In late 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the State to return to Golan the James Ossuary, the Jehoash Inscription and hundreds of other items that had been confiscated by the IAA “for the purpose of investigation.

Much interest was generated by this case, with several books written on the subject and several documentary films produced, including The Lost Tomb of Jesus.

The son of an engineer and a professor of microbiology, Golan served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces before studying industrial and management engineering at the Technion, graduating with honors.

...
Wikipedia