“The suspicion of forgery, sown by the bloggers and a rashly published note in the Times Literary Supplement in 2011, has been disproved by several independent scientific tests of the metal as well as yet unpublished expert study of the writing. No one of those actually involved with research on the codices has any doubt about their antiquity.”
Bernhard Lang, Emeritus Professor of Religion, University of Paderborn and St. Andrews, Dr Theol. Habil., Eleve Titulaire de l’Ecole Biblique
“It is important that images of these objects and the circumstances of their discovery are made public as soon as possible.”
George J. Brooke, Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, University of Manchester
“In spite of the potential importance and inherent fascination of these enigmatic artefacts, they have been bedevilled by intrigue, corruption and political wrangling which have obstructed their investigation… Whether the danger and abuse that David and Jennifer have endured in the name of the codices has been motivated by financial gain, or in fear of the radical and subversive nature of these texts, it marks the undeniable importance and enigmatic power of these codices.”
Dr Elizabeth Drayson, Head of Studies, Peterhouse College, Cambridge
“The most powerful evidence for a Christian origin lies in plates cast into a picture map of the holy city of Jerusalem.”
Philip Davies, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament Studies at Sheffield University, BBC Today programme, March 31, 2011
“We really believe that we have evidence from this analysis to prove that these materials are authentic.”
Distinguished archaeometallurgist Dr Ziad Al Saad, Director General of the Department of Antiquities, told to The Jordan Times
The books are billed by Jordanian experts as “more historic than the Dead Sea scrolls”
Jordan Times, April 5th, 2011
The former Archbishop of Canterbury and Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, Lord Williams, calls for ‘a fresh examination of the Jordan Codices’ in response to the Nodus Ion Beam Centre test results – Sunday Times, 6 November 2016
“They are made of lead, which is so unique they could be genuine – you only fake things to fit into a pattern, so that is in their favour. Jesus might have been able to write, but everyone is suspending judgment here until we know more…”
The Late Father Jerome Murphy O’Connor, Professor of New Testament Studies at the École biblique in Jerusalem
“As no alpha particle emissions could be detected from the lead book samples under test, it can be confirmed that the lead is not of modern manufacture, as it has no detectable Lead 210 isotope”.
Prof Roger Webb, Director, Nodus Ion Beam Centre, University of Surrey
“‘Modern’ lead used was from lead shielding installed in the centre’s lab in the 1960s, some 50 years ago. So, the lead in the codices is more likely to be over 100 years old. A hundred years ago the Dead Sea Scrolls had yet to be discovered, and yet to change scholarly understanding of this period. On a scholarly level, such a forgery would require the very latest academic research.”
Prof Roger Webb, Director, Ion Beam Centre, University of Surrey
“The level of corrosion exhibited in some of the artefacts within the original collection, in particular the visible formation of mineral crystals as the metal reverts to organic compounds, provides strong evidence of the great age of some of these artefacts. While there may be variations in decay and corrosion that depend upon the environmental conditions in which the objects were stored or hidden, there is a strong underlying theme of decay from within the metal. It is oxidising and breaking down at atomic level to revert to its natural state. This is not witnessed in lead objects that are several centuries old and is not possible to produce by artificial acceleration (e.g. through heating). This provides very strong evidence that the objects are of great age, consistent with the studies of the text and designs that suggest an age of around 2000 years. Some of the features are consistent with a few of the objects being potentially another thousand years older than that. This is from high-definition visual and photographic comparison with Bronze Age and Iron Age artefacts in museums.”
Matthew Hood, BEng, MSc, CEng, FRINA, MAPM, CDipAF, MIET, RCNC
“To hold even one of these objects is to feel oneself in the presence of the divine”.
John Matthews, BAFTA award-winning writer and historian
“What these books contain might turn out to be the earliest Christian writing in existence and could change our understanding of how Christianity came into being”.
Dr Elizabeth Drayson, Peterhouse College, Cambridge, author of The Lead Books of Granada