Israel has acknowledged that an ancient inscription of a Persian king's name on a pottery shard is fake. According to Business Insider, the words were inscribed by an ancient Aramaic inscription expert who was teaching students about historical inscriptions last summer.
Ancient Aramaic Inscription Expert Was Behind the Misidentified Pottery Shard
According to ABC News, the pottery shard was found by a passing hiker last December. It became sensational as it mentioned the ancient King Darius.
When the news of the supposed super-rare 2,500-year-old artifact broke out, an ancient Aramaic inscription expert reached out to the Israel Antiquities Authority. She notified them that she was actually the one who inscribed the words into the pottery fragment.
The unnamed expert was part of an expedition to the archaeological site in Tel Lachish. She mentioned that she etched the words on the shard to demonstrate to students how historical inscriptions were done.
After her demonstration, the pottery shard was then left in the area where a prehistoric Canaanite city used to stand. This was around 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the pottery shard was examined by Dr. Hagai Meshgav, who is a globally renowned expert when it comes to ancient Aramaic inscriptions, and Sa'ar Ganor, who is an archaeologist looking into Tel Lakish. However, the object of the study actually harbored a fake ancient inscription.
ABC News notes that the authorities identified that this misidentification was accidental and done without any malicious intentions. They also mentioned that it was careless for the expert to leave the inscribed pottery shard behind. The piece of pottery was analyzed in labs and misidentified as an ancient artifact, which led to much confusion.
Chief scientist Gideon Avni of the Antiquities Authority mentions that the authority takes full responsibility of the situation. He notes that, in terms of scientific and ethical practices, they see this as a severe case. It is also extremely rare for such incidents to happen.
As per AP News, the authority will review its policies and procedures for foreign expeditions.
It is not clear whether the authority will take any action against the ancient Aramaic inscription expert who etched the words.
Fake Ancient Inscription of Persian King's Name
Business Insider states that the fake ancient inscription read the 24th year of Darius. If it had been authentic, it would have dated to around 2,500 years ago, in 498 B.C.
Darius the Great was King Ahasuerus' father. The latter became a vital Jewish figure in the tradition linked to Purim's story. He governed the prehistoric Persian Achaemenid Empire from 522 B.C., until he died in 486 B.C.
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