Longtime Israeli antiquities collector Oded Golan has brought 350 of his most notable artifacts from the Holy Land to Atlanta’s Pullman Yards for display through the end of February.
Golan, a 73-year-old serial entrepreneur, has one of the largest Biblical era antiquities collections in the world, built up over more than five decades and purchased largely from dealers. He wanted to bring highlights of his collection to the United States and chose Atlanta as his first stop for “Discovering the World of Jesus.” Tickets start at $27 for adults from Tuesday through Sunday.
“Most of the items I’ve brought to Atlanta are being shown for the first time outside of Israel,” Golan said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I believe Atlanta is one of the best places to show antiquities from the time of Christ because of the population. This is the Bible Belt. There is a huge interest here in history, faith and archaeology.”
The exhibition ― which is in the same location as past experiences focused on Vincent Van Gogh, “Stranger Things” and “Bridgerton” ― features cookware, vases, jewelry, religious symbols, keys, toys and military gear from the first century A.D.
“This is not a religious exhibit,” Golan said. “It will not change the faith of anybody who believes or does not believe. But you can almost touch history when you see these original pieces. You get a strong feeling that you’re close to the events of that time.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.
His most controversial and possibly biggest find is the James Ossuary, a limestone bone box possibly used to intern the bones of James, brother of Jesus, based on an inscription on the box. When the discovery was announced in 2002, some scholars hailed the ossuary as the first physical evidence of the existence of Jesus.
While the box itself is believed by experts to be an authentic find from that time period, the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2004 charged Golan with 44 counts of forgery, fraud, and deception, including forgery of the ossuary inscription. Eight years later, Golan was acquitted of the primary forgery charges and many antiquities experts believe the inscription is real and from that time period.
The Israeli Supreme Court enabled Golan to get the ossuary back in his possession, but it has rarely been seen in public the past decade. This is the first time Golan has ever brought it to the United States.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
James Tabor, a Biblical scholar and retired religion professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, visited the exhibition, which opened earlier this month, and was thrilled to see the James Ossuary in person.
“I have no doubt the inscription on the James Ossuary is authentic based on all the testing that has been done,” Tabor said. But he said it’s impossible to know for sure if the James and Jesus references are the same ones known literally or historically from the Bible.
Still, Tabor added, “overall, I think this particular collection is quite extraordinary in showing the broad swath of archaeological remains that relate to the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.”
He was especially enamored by a pair of surprisingly well preserved baby shoes and spent extra time getting a good angle of the item on his camera. “The dry climate in that area definitely helped keep a lot of these artifacts from deteriorating,” he said.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@
Tabor said there are purists who consider any antiquities not found by a licensed archaeologist as problematic. But he is happy that someone like Golan is showing these artifacts to the public. “Israel has only existed since 1948,” he said. “Before that, people were taking items from tombs all the time. Many artifacts in museums all around the world were stolen a long time ago.”
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
IF YOU GO
“Discovering the World of Jesus”
Through Feb. 28. Tuesday-Sunday. $27-$36. Pullman Yards, 225 Rogers St. NE, Atlanta. feverup.com.
About the Author
