BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Oded Golan’s Commentary on the Expert Witnesses of the Case

Israel Antiquities Authority vs. Conspiracy of (Alleged) Forgers

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In December 2004, accompanied by great fanfare in the local and international media, a bill of indictment was filed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the State of Israel against Oded Golan and against four antiquities dealers from Israel, charging them with involvement in the forgery of antiquities and/or the sale of forged antiquities of significance. The trial began in September 2005, and in the early stages of the trial, after a small number of witnesses were heard, charges against three of the defendants were dismissed. The trial continued against Golan and Robert Deutsch, Israel’s leading antiquities dealer.

On October 3, 2010, the prosecution and the defense concluded their closing arguments, after scientific opinions had been submitted and all the witnesses had been examined. In those five years, the trial went through 116 sessions, 138 witnesses, 200 exhibits and close to 12,000 pages of witness testimony. The Jerusalem District Court is expected to render its decision in the near future.

Defendant Oded Golan offers BAR readers a summary of the 52 expert witnesses who testified in the course of the trial.

The report originally appeared at The Bible and Interpretation.