How Fake Artifacts Fooled Experts: The Etruscan Statues, Drake Plate, and More

The Etruscan Statues Forgery

• 💡 In 1933, the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled three nearly complete Etruscan terracotta statues with vibrant paint, acquired between 1915-1921.
• ⚠️ Despite initial suspicions about proportions and paint, the museum defended the artifacts, partly due to the desire to learn about Etruscan culture.
• 🔬 By the late 1950s, analysis revealed high levels of manganese in the paint, unlike ancient techniques that used iron and oxygen, and fewer vent holes than typical for the era.
• 🔍 Art historian Dietrich von Bothmer connected the art dealer to known forgers Alfredo Adolfo Fioravanti and the Riccardi brothers, leading to Fioravanti's confession and the admission that the statues were fakes, discovered 28 years after acquisition.

The Sir Francis Drake Plate Hoax

• 🎯 In 1936, Professor Herbert E. Bolton of UC Berkeley acquired a brass plate supposedly commemorating Drake's 1579 California arrival, a find that later became a subject of pranks by the historical society E. Clampus Vitus.
• 🧪 By 1977, scientific analysis showed the plate's brass composition (35% zinc, 65% copper) and mechanical rolling indicated a 1900s origin, not the 16th century.
• pranksters, including G. Ezra Dane, created the plate as a joke, intending for Bolton to find it and realize the prank, even inscribing "ECV" (E. Clampus Vitus) on the back in fluorescent paint.
• 💰 Bolton, a devoted Drake fan, purchased the plate for $3,500 (approx. $80,000 today), and despite hints and spoofs, most forgers took the truth to their graves, with the hoax only fully revealed nearly 70 years later.

Shinichi Fujimura's Paleolithic Hoax

• 🇯🇵 Japanese archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura, nicknamed "divine hands," claimed to find stone tools dating back up to 600,000 years, rewriting the history of human life in Japan.
• 📰 In 2000, reporters used hidden cameras to expose Fujimura burying his own artifacts under volcanic ash layers to fake their age, a method reliant on dating volcanic ash markers.
• 📉 Fujimura confessed, leading to a reevaluation of Japanese archaeology, the removal of his artifacts from museums, and the disbandment of his nonprofit.
• ✅ New evidence now places Japan's Paleolithic period between 37,000 and 16,000 years ago, with improved transparency and databases in the field.

Forged Iranian Swords

• ⚔️ In 2024, eight ancient Iranian swords, intended for the illicit antiquities market, were seized at the UK border, representing a supposed transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.
• 🔬 Neutron tomography, a non-damaging imaging technique, revealed the swords were not authentic, showing evidence of modern drilling and significant amounts of glue.
• 🧩 The swords were likely constructed by forgers combining blades from ancient bronze swords with hilts from iron swords, creating "Frankenstein" artifacts for profit.
• 🏛️ These forged swords are currently on display at the British Museum and are promised to be repatriated to Iran.