[UPDATE: Despite the date at the top of the essay, it is from March of 2021. I now see that I linked to it when it came out. Please pardon the error. Thanks to reader Matthew Hamilton for pointing it out.]
A little over a year ago, a couple of new books made a media splash, arguing that the Shapira scroll fragments were geniune after all. See here and here and then follow the links back from here.
Professor Klawans argues that the fragments are fake and they display Christian influence.
The discussion has died down in 2022, with no resolution in sight. I suggested a possible way forward here, but as far as I know, no one has followed it up.
I commented early in the revived debate:
If we ever find one of the Shapira fragments, we have a good chance of resolving the question. If not, I suspect Tony [Burke] is right. Both sides will find evidence that supports their confirmation bias and there will never be a consensus.A year on, that still sounds right.
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