Leather Palestinian Manuscript Confirmed as Modern Forgery via Radiocarbon Dating. Manuscript obtained by Palestinian tourism police after arrest of antiquity smuggler Written on leather with inscription imitating ancient Phoenician or PaleoHebrew writing Letters did not match genuine Phoenician or PaleoHebrew scripts
📜 A leather manuscript seized from an antiquity smuggler, imitating Phoenician/PaleoHebrew script, turned out to be a modern fake. Radiocarbon dating placed the leather between 1989–1997. Mixed-era letters + modern marker = confirmed forgery. 🔬
Key Facts
- Manuscript obtained by Palestinian tourism police after arrest of antiquity smuggler
- Written on leather with inscription imitating ancient Phoenician or PaleoHebrew writing
- Letters did not match genuine Phoenician or PaleoHebrew scripts
- Writing appeared made with modern marker on aged leather rather than ancient tools
- Attempted to imitate 10th century BCE Phoenician letters but incorporated 6th century BCE elements
- Contained numerous grammatical errors and historically implausible mixture of motifs
- Radiocarbon dating via accelerator mass spectrometry showed leather age between 1989-1997 at one sigma level
- Concluded to be modern forgery likely created for commercial purposes in antiquities market
Source: Biggest Archaeology Hoaxes of 2025-26 by World of Antiquity