Six Notable Archaeological Forgeries in History
Archaeological forgery is the fabrication of purportedly ancient items that are sold in the antiquities market and may sometimes even end up in museums. Fame and money are usually the reasons why most archaeological forgeries are perpetrated. Here are six notable archaeological hoaxes in history.
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown man consisted of skull and jawbone fragments unearthed in 1912 from a gravel pit in Piltdown, a village in East Sussex, England. Due to the prevailing ideas of the time regarding early human evolution, many leading experts touted the discovery as representing the missing link between ape and man, and even named it Eoanthropus Dawsoni, “Dawson’s dawn man” after its discoverer, Charles Dawson, an amateur geologist and archaeologist.
What could have been the turning point in the study of evolution instead brought horrible embarrassment to the scientific community when the Piltdown man was revealed to be a forgery in 1953 in what would become the greatest scientific hoax in history. The skull and the jawbone actually belonged to a modern man and an orangutan respectively; both were determined to be about 500 years old but which had been chemically treated to make them appear older. The forger’s identity remains unknown but primary suspects included Dawson himself and Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes, among many others.
Etruscan Terracotta Warriors
Image source (see images of the terracotta soldiers here)
Italian career art forgers Pio and Alfonso Ricardi were able to create three life-sized warrior statues during the 1910s with the aid of sculptor Alfredo Fiovaranti, These terracotta figures were passed off as priceless ancient Etruscan artworks and were eventually acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1915 and 1921. Since their first exhibition in 1933, numerous art historians had expressed suspicion regarding their authenticity but had no evidence to prove their allegation.
The museum finally decided in 1960 to have some tests conducted following a visiting scholar’s comment that he knew who made them. Tests results would indicate that the glazes on all three specimens contained manganese, an element not used prior to the 17th century. But the museum was not totally convinced until it was learned that they were constructed from multiple pieces instead of being fired as a single object as the Etruscans had done. Fiovaranti ultimately confessed to the entire hoax in 1961.
Forged Persian Princess
Image source (see the mummy in its original condition here)
In October 2000, an alleged 2,600-year-old mummy dressed with golden artifacts and encased in a gilded wooden sarcophagus surfaced in Pakistani Baluchistan, where it had been for sale in the antiquities black market for $11 to 20 million. The golden breastplate bore cuneiform inscriptions identifying the body as the Persian princess Rhodugune, a daughter of Xerxes I. Since no evidence of mummification was ever found outside Egypt, it was hailed as a major archaeological discovery.
However, American archaeologist Oscar Muscarella had suspected fraud all along having seen photographs of the mummy months earlier. Carbon dating analysis revealed that the coffin and the mat below the body to be only 250 and 5 years old respectively. The inscriptions were not in correct Persian and were found to contain passages copied from inscriptions from a much later period. CT scans showed that the ancient mummification custom was not strictly followed, as some internal organs were not removed. It was concluded that the body was a modern woman who had been murdered two years previously for the sole purpose of perpetrating the hoax.
Cardiff Giant
Regarded as one of the greatest hoaxes in American history, the Cardiff Giant was a 10-foot supposed petrified man discovered in 1869 by group of workers in a farm in Cardiff, New York while digging a well. It turned out that the New York tobacconist-atheist named George Hull had hired men to carve the giant out of a huge block of gypsum in order to embarrass a fundamentalist preacher who believed that the Bible spoke of literal giants that once roamed the earth.
The giant became so popular that Hull made $30,000 charging 50 cents a peek, considering he spent only $2,600 for the hoax; he eventually sold it to a syndicate for $37,500. The celebrated showman P.T. Barnum even offered to pay $60,000 for a three-month lease, but when he was refused, he had a replica made that would become even more popular than the “original” fake. And when the owner attempted to sue Barnum, the judge dismissed the case noting that unless the original could be proven to be genuine, Barnum could not be sued for creating his own fake.
Stone Age Discoveries of Shinichi Fujimura
Largely self-taught, Shinichi Fujimura rocketed to fame and established himself as one of Japan’s leading archaeologists upon his 1981 discovery of stoneware dating back 40,000 years, the oldest ever found in Japan then. Throughout the next two decades, he participated in over 180 archaeological projects around Japan and always managed to find increasingly older artifacts, and thus, was dubbed as one who possessed “divine hands.” He had built quite a reputation that his work was being taught in schools and used for research by other archaeologists.
But on November 5, 2000, just two weeks after Fujimura and his crew announced the discovery of a cluster of stone relics believed to be over 600,000 years old at Tsukidate in Miyagi Prefecture, the Mainichi Shimbun published pictures on its front page of Fujimura digging holes and planting the artifacts his team later uncovered. With his head bowed in shame, he admitted everything and apologized the same day in a press conference stating he had done so in his desire to become the archaeologist who found the most ancient stoneware in Japan. Doubts were immediately cast over all the sites he had worked on. He was subsequently fired from his scientific position as researcher at the Tohoku Paleolithic Institute.
The Lying Stones of Dr. Beringer
Like many physicians of his time, Dr. Johann Beringer (1667 – 1740), a professor of the faculty of medicine at the University of Würzburg, cultivated a deep interest in natural history, particularly the new field paleontology or the study of fossils, then known as oryctics. His fossil collection was quite ordinary until 1725, when three local boys brought him three stones that displayed three-dimensional relief images on their surfaces. In only a few months, he had amassed nearly 2,000 stones bearing images of plants, birds, insects, astronomical objects and even the name of God in Hebrew characters. They were in fact fraudulently planted by two of his colleagues on Mount Eibelstadt, where Beringer often went to look for fossils, in retaliation for his arrogance.
Although the possibility of a hoax crossed his mind, Beringer reasoned that he could not imagine why would anyone go through so much trouble to pull such a prank. He went on to publish a treatise about the stones, titled “Lithographiae Wirceburgensis” (1726), arguing that they were the work of nature, strongly convinced that the sculpted images were made with “chisel wielded by the hand of God.” According to legend, Beringer finally realized that he was indeed the victim of an elaborate hoax when the boys presented him with a final stone with his name carved on it; and would impoverish himself attempting to buy back all copies of his book in an effort to save his own reputation. His colleagues were fired from their position over the controversy. The stones consequently became known as “lugensteine” or the “lying stones.”
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User Comments
Dabra Mann
On January 29, 2009 at 7:16 am
You always bring us the most fascinating interesting stuff and this time was no different! Well done again, Eddie!
Sharona
On January 29, 2009 at 7:43 am
Archaeology, always a wonderful way to learn about our past. Great article!
Glynis Smy
On January 29, 2009 at 7:45 am
Fascinating work! I learned something new, thanks
Jenny Heart
On January 29, 2009 at 7:54 am
Information and pictures are great. I liked the information about the lying stone.
Morgana
On January 29, 2009 at 8:03 am
Excellent work, very interesting.
Hein Marais
On January 29, 2009 at 8:06 am
Great Work. I like the detailed descriptions of all of the events.
Christine Ramsay
On January 29, 2009 at 8:20 am
A really interesting article. I actually live quite near where the Piltdown man was discovered. Good work.
Christine
rutherfranc
On January 29, 2009 at 9:00 am
archeology never ceases to amaze, thanks for the share..
Tusaani
On January 29, 2009 at 9:21 am
You always have very interesting information. This article was not a disappointment!
Joni Keith
On January 29, 2009 at 10:11 am
How greed and fame can taint the significance of science and history. These are all interesting cases. I find it unbelievable that anyone would go to such lengths to perpetrate a hoax, or in the case of Beringer, impoverish himself trying to save face.
Great article, Eddie.
Maria Blazz
On January 29, 2009 at 11:03 am
Very good research!
Jackie118
On January 29, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Don’t ever stop putting articles on Triond Ed – they’re always a real delight to read when I finish my working day!!
Gon pincha
On January 29, 2009 at 1:26 pm
It is wonderful.
Great work!
Sharazad
On January 29, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Man, this article is full of information. I love it.
CutestPrincess
On January 29, 2009 at 2:12 pm
interesting article! job well done!
RJ Chamberlain
On January 29, 2009 at 2:24 pm
A very well researched and written piece Eddie.
RJ
Karen Gross
On January 29, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Fascinating! How tragic that people would murder a woman just to use her body for a hoax. Too bad these forgers don’t use their talents to create – in most cases it seems like they go to a lot of trouble to make a dishonest buck.
Emma C S
On January 29, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Interesting, but yeah, forgeries are such a pain. I’m doing a degree in archaeology, it’s really frustrating when you come across some nonsense piece.
Juancav
On January 29, 2009 at 3:32 pm
An original article well documented and entertaining,in fact.
Bren Parks
On January 29, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I remember there was this petrified Indian on display in this tourist shop…probably fake…great read!
Paula Mitchell Bentley
On January 29, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Amazing piece of work here Eddie! I wonder what happens to these guys after their secrets are out?
R J Evans
On January 29, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Grat stuff!
BC Doan
On January 29, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Fascinating, and so interesting…as well as educational! I Buzzed it!
Dialga
On January 29, 2009 at 6:19 pm
It’s getting harder and harder to separate the fakes these days.
It’s just people with a certain talent looking to make a quick buck. Then again, people make a fortune selling potato chips that look like Jesus on eBay, so I can’t really say I’m that surprised. =
SJ Dickens
On January 29, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Well researched and woderfully informative.
Keep on writing this kind of stuff. Is there anything greater that Great?.. I’m wanting another word.
Betty Carew
On January 29, 2009 at 7:06 pm
What an excellent article and so very interesting , You did an outstanding job on this article Eddie
RON
On January 29, 2009 at 7:06 pm
WHY DIDN’T YOU INCLUDE THE SO-CALLED EVIDENCES FOR EVOLUTION?
I THINK THE MOST RECENT IS THE SO-CALLED FOSSIL OF THE TRANSITION OF DINOSAURS INTO BIRDS, WHICH WAS CONFIRMED AS FRAUD!
Lost in Arizona
On January 29, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Wonderful article. I hadn’t learned a couple of these, and I’m an anthropologist…lol! Of course, the latest forgery was I think the “supposed” tomb of Jesus’ brother John. It’s amazing what people can come with, and to the extents of which they will go to create something that isn’t the “real deal.” I really enjoyed this piece. Going to stumble it.
Mark Gordon Brown
On January 29, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I have been trying all day to post here, but keep getting shut down..
I wish some of these were real.
And to RON -Birds did evolve from Dinosaurs, man really did walk on the moon… and yes, people did evolve from ape like creatures!
B Nelson
On January 29, 2009 at 7:37 pm
When I was younger I wanted to be an archaeologist or palentologist but had a hard time being outdoors in heat – I kinda regret it because this stuff fascinates me. To agree with Mark (above) yes birds did evolove from Dinosaurs. Look at any bird today and you can see it… Chickens for example.. totally look like feathered dinos..
Great link Eddie – stumble thumbs up!
Angie0000023
On January 29, 2009 at 11:51 pm
I loved this it was so good. Nice job!!!!
Check out my stuff?
Cazz
On January 30, 2009 at 12:14 am
I really enjoyed your work. It was very informative.
Cazz
Dee Gold
On January 30, 2009 at 12:41 am
really interesting and informative
Inna Tysoe
On January 30, 2009 at 1:33 am
Interesting.
Thanks,
Inna
jhenz
On January 30, 2009 at 2:06 am
wow eddie! congratulations on this one again!
“Fame and money are usually the reasons why most archaeological forgeries are perpetrated.”
nobert soloria bermosa
On January 30, 2009 at 2:53 am
great find,
AmskyDC
On January 30, 2009 at 4:04 am
Wonderful article Eddie.
S Air
On January 30, 2009 at 5:29 am
Just brill….really enjoyed reading this!
Anne Lyken Garner
On January 30, 2009 at 8:56 am
A fascinating piece. Thanks for sharing this.
tnmcetnmce
On January 30, 2009 at 9:11 am
Great work! this is mazing!
eddiego65
On January 30, 2009 at 9:27 am
Hi, everyone, thanks for the encouraging comments.
Juhls
On January 30, 2009 at 9:39 am
Really cool stuff. Amazing (and sad) that there have been so many forgeries. Thanks for “uncovering” these for us : ).
Peace,
Julesita
Peter Cimino
On January 30, 2009 at 10:00 am
Nice job Eddie. You write about very cool and interesting stuff. Thank you!
a fool
On January 30, 2009 at 11:01 am
quite enjoyable and well written
anonymous
On January 30, 2009 at 11:28 am
iranians are always pathetic and liars, stealing babylonian and sumerian history
hfj
On January 30, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I for one have never believed in that carbon dating process. I don’t think you can predict that something is two million years old. Scientists have been proved wrong more than they have been proved right. Good article and nice pictures and research.
Lauren Axelrod
On January 30, 2009 at 2:19 pm
People are always trying to cash in on history. I guess the fact that at the time it took place, there were not enough historians or educated archeologists to decipher what was real or fake. Interesting read. Well done Eddie!
John McDonnell
On January 30, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Fascinating. I knew about Piltdown Man and the Cardiff Giant, but not some of the other ones. Great research!
Lisa Clayton Williams
On January 30, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Very interesting article! Enjoyed reading this.
Brian Daniel Stankich
On January 30, 2009 at 6:21 pm
fascinating hoaxes…what some people won’t do.
AC Hamilton III
On January 30, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Wonderfully interesting information and you reported it so thoroughly. You obviously put a lot of work into it. Very quality piece from a quality person. Excellent.
AC
Pete Macinta
On January 30, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Quite interesting!
James DeVere
On January 31, 2009 at 12:04 am
Really liked the captions underneath the photos – haven’t seen that format yet. The images are great joined with good information. Read like an Encylopedia – thanks . j
Crazy Chick
On January 31, 2009 at 4:11 am
you forgot to note down the Tuthankamen’s mummy. It is featured in Discovery Channel.
S A JOHNSON
On January 31, 2009 at 4:23 am
You always have such enlightening articles!
MJPatrick
On January 31, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Very interesting as always! Forgot to put comment before, stumbled anyway.
JK Kristie
On February 1, 2009 at 4:53 am
You’re so good at this concept of content. Great read!
lindalulu
On February 1, 2009 at 8:00 am
Interesting article Eddie, loved it!
Clay Hurtubise
On February 1, 2009 at 3:25 pm
lol, this is great!
Your on your way to creating a book… combine all your Triond pieces into one!
Thanks,
Clay
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas
On February 2, 2009 at 3:18 am
Intriguing and fascinating as always, Eddie. I remember the Irving Wallace’s ‘The Word’ which I read when I was still in college. Gret post.
Dee Gold
On February 2, 2009 at 6:47 am
good right
Dee Gold
On February 2, 2009 at 6:50 am
eddie,
sorry for that I meant good write.God bless
Liane Schmidt
On February 2, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Very interesting work here!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
macon
On February 4, 2009 at 1:25 am
nice work. very fascinating!
Majic
On February 4, 2009 at 10:31 am
Who wouldn’t like this article? Archaeology is our ticket to understanding the world and its history.
Thanks for sharing!
MMV Abad
On February 10, 2009 at 2:46 am
Great article, Eddie. You made archaeology super-interesting!
Unofre Pili
On February 11, 2009 at 6:24 am
This is a very interesting piece.
M J katz
On March 31, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Wonderful article, eddiego65!! So much information! I never knew even half of all this!
Shari86
On May 8, 2009 at 10:07 am
Very interesting article with excellent references and great illustrations. It’s always a pleasure to read genuinely well researched material.
Victoria
On May 11, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Mark Brown evolution is a fruad in its self! So it should have been in this article ! Men did not evolve from apes although some act like it it has no evidence unlike creation. Sorry Eddie but this was an amazing aticle very insane.
Thank you
You were reviewed by Victoria Wright the writers critic.
You earned 5 stars.
Larry
On June 16, 2009 at 5:57 am
Excellent post
A. Bose
On July 7, 2009 at 2:20 am
A most excellent read, if anything. I am going to speculate that there is soon going to be a seventh addition to this honor roll. The Chinese army of terracotta soldiers, which were so “miraculously” found one summer day in 1974 hasn’t received the minute scrutiny that such discoveries deserve. Suffice it to say that the Chinese Propaganda Ministry and its famous “History Project” enterprise made good use of its resources since the cultural revolution of the 1960s. And scrutiny there never will be because scholars who show even the slightest discord with the so-called findings can’t get within even 5 feet of it. I will hazard a guess that we will be bombarded with many more such fantastic findings about China’s ‘glorious’ and oh-so-ancient past in the near future from such indulgent sources as the National Geographic and popular media such as the BBC & hostory channel. It’s a sad day when academic scholarship takes resort to subterfuge and truth takes second place to political & chauvinistic propaganda.
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