The Aramaic Uzziah Inscription and the Syntax of an Ancient Forgery

Abstract Upon scrutiny, the accepted historical contextualization of the famous Uzziah Epitaph ( IM 65.56.38 = CIIP 602) is revealed to be full of difficulties. While Garbini’s argument that the artefact is a modern fake is unconvincing, good reasons exist to explore it instead as an ancient forgery. The present article accordingly explores an alternative understanding of the inscription as the product of a hellenized fashion for the sight-seeing of celebrity tombs and an emergent culture of “biblical tourism” in Judea. From this perspective the “staged authenticity” of the epitaph is analyzed through the socio-rhetorical function of the object as understood and experienced within this context.