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L.Y. Rahmani/Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries

A supposedly fatal flaw in the James ossuary inscription, according to some, is a purported difference in handwriting within the inscription. But Lemaire notes that inscriptions on unquestioned ossuaries also show differences between individual letters. The ossuary (photo and drawing at top), inscribed, “Our father Simon the Elder, Joseph his son,” bears two different alephs, while the inscription at bottom, which reads, “Slomzion [Salome], daughter of Simon,” features two different shins.