Forgery Roundup

The AP story on the indictment was interpolated in this way by at least one Arab site:

Another Jewish forgery to be discovered and declared is the Jewish right wing extremist's claim that their Temple that was destroyed by the Romans more than four thousand years ago was located where the present Muslim Holy Site of Haram Al Shariff, Al Aqsa Mosque stands.

It can't be repeated too often, I suppose: that the First and Second Temples existed and that they were located on the Temple Mount is a historical fact, not anybody's "claim."

This excerpt from another story tells us where the next forgery might be located:

The indictment lists 124 witnesses, including antiquities collectors, archaeologists, officials from Sotheby's auction house and representatives of the British Museum and the Brooklyn Museum.

Hey, kids! Want to make your own ancient patina at home? Here's how!

The Christian Science Monitor, in an interesting background piece, indicates that the illegal antiquities trade is also being driven, in part, by the depressed economic status of Palestinians.

As sites in the West Bank are being emptied, it appears more Palestinians are taking the risk of crossing the politically sensitive "Green Line" that separates Israel from the West Bank, in search of more promising places to dig. A rise in poverty is a likely motive. Last year, the IAA's anti-theft unit reported that it caught a Palestinian Authority policeman digging within Israel to supplement his meager wages.

Read the whole thing.