Via Bob Cargill
I note that the candleabrum/hanukiah in the picture is 9-branched (8 + shamash), not the typical 7-branched menorah that we find depicted, for instance, on the Arch of Titus, which was erected in 82 CE long after the Maccabean Revolt. Were these 9-branched hanukiot typical at this time? If not, would the presence of a 9-branched hanukiah be evidence of a forgery? Or would this have to be the earliest example of a 9-branched hanukiah? If anyone knows of an earlier hanukiah, I’d be interested to learn.
Cheers,
Robert Cargill, UCLA
Advertisement
Robert Deutsch
22/03/2011 at 15:21
This is ridiculous and embarrassing how serious “experts” are considering the authenticity of such foolish fakes. The antiquities dealers in Israel are bombarded in the last 15 years with such “booklets”, which are poured from Jordan, west of the land of Ali Baba.
bobcargill
22/03/2011 at 17:10
i think it’s a fake. methinks someone screwed up the menorah and started drawing a hanukiah, only to attempt and correct it to a menorah on the trunk. a hanukiah in the shape of a menorah this early would be an anachronism (based upon known evidence). we don’t find it in the arch of titus, mosaics, burial inscriptions, etc. of the period.
an 8+shamash candelabrum is an anachronism imho, and evidence of a forgery.
Jim
22/03/2011 at 20:58
it looks very fake. it looks like someone attempting to imitate various hebrew symbols who doesnt read hebrew along with some gibberish thrown in to make it look ‘fuller’ so tourists who dont read hebrew either will think theyve got a real ‘treasure’. but thats just first impressions from a photo.
Doug
23/03/2011 at 09:55
Wait look at the bottom corner, it says “made in China”.