Lessons from the fake Darius ostracon

ANALYSIS: Too-good-to-be-true Darius ostracon mix-up teaches a public lesson etched in pottery. While archaeologists worry about forgeries, the IAA vows to implement more rigorous testing after a highly touted potsherd thought to be from 498 BCE was found to be inauthentic (Melanie Lidman, Times of Israel).

The IAA quickly identified that the potsherd itself was an authentic potsherd, which led to the assumption that the inscription on it was also authentic. However, there are thousands of potsherds similar to the unauthenticated ostracon lying around Lachish.

Avni said the experts fell into a mistake common not just in archaeology, but in all types of science: they already believed the item was real, and they performed tests that confirmed that bias.

For more on confirmation bias, see here.

Background on the story, with my commentary, is here and links.

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