The Bible Museum has opened in southwestern British Columbia.(Photo: Alan Karchmer)

The Bible Museum will no longer present five of its artifacts – once considered part of the Dead Sea Scrolls – after lab tests revealed that these fragments could be forgeries.

The Washington, D.C., museum announced Monday that a German laboratory had performed a battery of tests on five of its 16 fragments exhibiting "characteristics incompatible with the ancient origin".

"We were hoping the tests would produce different results, but it's an opportunity to educate the public about the importance of verifying the authenticity of rare biblical artifacts, the testing process that has been developed, and our commitment to transparency." Jeffrey Kloha, head of the conservative officer museum, said in a report. "As an educational institution with a cultural heritage, the museum respects and adheres to all museum and ethical guidelines for the maintenance, research and exhibition of collections."

The fragments were displayed at the museum, which has cost $ 500 million since its grand opening last November, alongside more than 3,000 other artifacts, including a first edition of the King James Bible and a page from the Gutenberg Bible. .

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According to the release, academics researched manuscripts sponsored by the museum two years ago. The museum sent the fragments to the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung, based in Germany, in April 2017 for an analysis of the ink and sediment layers.

While the research was being conducted, the museum continued to display the fragments with "information to educate visitors about the importance of determining the authenticity and skepticism of some researchers about the authenticity of these fragments."

The museum said that the non-authentic artifacts would be replaced by three other fragments, while the analysis is continued.

"The museum continues to support and encourage research on these and other objects in its collection, both to inform the public about cutting-edge research methods and to ensure that our exhibits present information. the most accurate and up-to-date, "said Kloha.

The museum, one of the world's largest dedicated to the Bible, was designed by owners of the Hobby Lobby, Steve and Jackie Green. Just last year, Hobby Lobby was forced to pay a fine of $ 3 million and return thousands of antiques that he had bought and smuggled on to archaeological sites. ;Iraq.

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Contributor: Nancy Trejos and Mike James, United States Today

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