The Antiquities Authority announces that the ancient pottery found by tourists at Tel Lakish, bearing the inscription 'Darius year 24', is not authentic.
Following the publication last Wednesday, yesterday (Thursday) the Authority was contacted by a researcher from abroad, who participated last August in the excavations of a foreign expedition at Tel Lakish. This researcher is one of the few in the world specializing in transcriptions of the ancient Aramaic language.
The researcher explained that she demonstrated to a group of students the engraving of the inscription on ancient pottery, and then left the find in the mound - something that in retrospect created a deception. The researcher was interviewed, and according to her, she had no malicious intent.