Archaeological forgery is the manufacture of supposedly ancient items that are sold to the
antiquities market and may even end up in the collections of museums. It is related to
art forgery.
A string of archaeological forgeries have usually followed news of prominent
archaeological excavations. Historically, famous excavations like those in
Crete, the
Valley of the Kings in
Egypt and
Pompeii have caused the appearance of a number of forgeries supposedly spirited away from the dig. Those have been usually presented in the open market but some have also ended up in museum collections and as objects of serious historical study.
In recent times, forgeries of
pre-Columbian pottery from South America have been very common. Other popular examples include Ancient Egyptian
earthenware and supposed ancient
Greek cheese. There have also been paleontological forgeries like the
archaeoraptor or the
Piltdown Man skull.
Motivations
Most archaeological forgeries are made for reasons similar to art forgeries – for financial gain. The monetary value of an item that is thought to be thousands of years old is higher than if the item were sold as a souvenir.
However, archaeological or paleontological forgers may have other motives; they may try to manufacture proof for their point of view or favorite theory (or against a point of view/theory they dislike), or to gain increased fame and prestige for themselves. If the intention is to create "proof" for religious history, it is considered
pious fraud.
Detection
Investigators of archaeological forgery rely on the tools of
archaeology in general. Since the age of the object is usually the most significant detail, they try to use
radiocarbon dating or
neutron activation analysis to find out the real age of the object.
Criticisms of antiquities trade
Some
historians and archaeologists have strongly criticized the
antiquities trade for putting profit and
art collecting before scientific accuracy and veracity. This, in effect, favours the archaeological forgery. Allegedly, some of the items in prominent museum collections are of dubious or at least of unknown origin. Looters who rob archaeologically important places and supply the antiquities market are rarely concerned with exact dating and placement of the items. Antiquities dealers may also embellish a genuine item to make it more saleable. Sometimes traders may even sell items that are attributed to nonexistent cultures.
As is the case with art forgery, scholars and experts don't always agree on the authenticity of particular finds. Sometimes an entire research topic of a scholar may be based on finds that are later suspected as forgeries.[citation needed]
Known archaeological forgers
Curzio Inghirami (1614—1655), 17th century Italian archaeologist and historian known as a forger of
Etruscan artifacts.
Shinichi Fujimura (b. 1950), Japanese amateur archeologist who planted specimens on false layers to gain more prestige
Alois Anton Führer (1853-1930), German indologist who forged many inscriptions
Shaun Greenhalgh (b. 1961), a prolific and versatile British forger, who, with the help of his family, forged Ancient Egyptian statues,
Roman silverware and
Celtic gold jewelry among more modern artworks. Arrested in 2006 attempting to sell three
Assyrian reliefs to the
British Museum.
James Mellaart (1925–2012), English
archaeologist and author who is noted for his discovery of the
Neolithic settlement of
Çatalhöyük in
Turkey. After his death, it was discovered that he had forged many of his "finds", including
murals and inscriptions used to discover the Çatalhöyük site.[1][2]
"Egyptian mummy" ca. 1898, purchased from the estate of
Confederate Colonel Breevoort Butler in the 1920s, the "mummy" was found to be a wooden frame covered with
papier-mache; it is on display at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi with its true nature openly revealed
Gosford Glyphs (discovered in the 1970s), Egyptian hieroglyphs carved into a pair of sandstone walls in New South Wales, Australia; widely acknowledged as modern forgeries, a minority of scholars use the glyphs as evidence of ancient Egyptian contact with Australia
Cases that several professional archaeologists believe to be forgeries or hoaxes
Glozel tablets (archeological site discovered 1924), set of 100 inscribed ceramic tablets found in an authentic Medieval site among other artifacts of mixed authenticity and period[4][5]