- The inscription bearing the Persian king’s name is “not authentic,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said.
- In a demonstration, an ancient inscription expert carved words into the fragment last summer.
- The Antiquities Department said it would take “full responsibility for the unfortunate event”.
Israeli archaeological authorities on Friday retracted an ancient inscription bearing the name of the Persian king after saying it was “not real.”
Last summer, it turned out that an expert in ancient Aramaic inscriptions carved the words into the fragment.
Discovery of what was thought to be the first inscription bearing the name of Darius the Great considerable publicity when it was announced on Wednesday. The supposed pottery shards were discovered last December by hikers in Tell He Lachish National Park, 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
An inscription on the pottery fragment reads “24th year of Darius”, according to a government press release on Wednesday. .
Darius the Great is the father of King Ahasuerus and is an important figure in Jewish tradition related to the story of Purim, which will be celebrated next week.
But after news broke about the seemingly accidental discovery, an expert came forward and explained that she herself carved the words into pieces. according to Associated Press.
An expert, not named by the Department of Archaeology, was giving a demonstration to students at the archaeological site where the Canaanite city once stood and left behind modified pottery last August.
“The Israel Antiquities Authority takes full responsibility for this unfortunate event,” said the agency’s chief scientist, Professor Gideon Avni. according to to the Israeli news agency i24.
“From an ethical and scientific practice standpoint, we consider this to be a very serious event,” he said.
authority said in a statement They believed researchers left the debris “unintentionally and without malice”, but it was also “careless” and led to “rare mistakes” that “distorted scientific truth”. .
An Associated Press report added to the confusion that a thorough examination in the lab revealed that the pottery was ancient. Officials also said they would review all procedures and policies now.
Darius I ruled the Achaemenid dynasty of ancient Persia from 522 BC until his death in 486 BC.