Mistake by archaeologists: ‘age-old’ inscription on potsherd appears to have been applied recently | Abroad

After all the media attention about the find, an expert who participated in an excavation expedition in August approached the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the government agency that deals with preservation. She said that the inscription is not authentic. The expert had made the inscription herself ‘while demonstrating to a group of students how shards were inscribed in antiquity’.

“She then left the shard at the excavation site, which led to the misidentification. She was questioned and said this was unintentional and unintentional,” the IAA said Times of Israel.

“The IAA takes full responsibility for the unfortunate event,” said Gideon Avni, the antiquities authority’s chief scientist. The piece had been studied by two leading researchers prior to its initial publication. “As an institution that strives for scientific truth, we are committed to correcting the mistake made and making it known to the public.”

The discovery of the shard was world news, as the inscription was thought to be the first ever found bearing the name of the Persian king Darius the Great. The potsherd, inscribed ‘Year 24 of Darius’, had been found by a hiker near the ancient site of Lachish, a prosperous city and important administrative center 2,500 years ago. The inscription would be a receipt for goods received or shipped.

Darius I reigned from 522-486 BC, at a time when the Persian Empire was growing rapidly and encompassing much of the ancient world. No written evidence of Darius’ rule had ever been found in Israel. Darius was the father of King Ahasuerus, an important figure in Jewish tradition associated with the festival of Purim. The feast, which will be celebrated again next week, commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from extermination.

The site was not a “controlled archaeological excavation site,” so the authenticity of the find should have been questioned, Avni says. “In terms of ethical and scientific practices, we see this as a very serious event. Leaving the newly inscribed shard on the spot was careless and led to the mistake the researchers made and distorted the scientific truth.”