# Archaeological forgery · Concept

> An object made or altered in modern times and presented as an ancient find, usually by planting it in the ground or in a collection.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DEDZB86XVEY/archaeological-forgery  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Archaeological forgery

Concept · archaeology · in 1 mystery

# Archaeological forgery

An object made or altered in modern times and presented as an ancient find, usually by planting it in the ground or in a collection.

[Vinča signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)[6 sources]

For this site a forgery is any object whose claimed age or origin was fabricated by a person, whether by making it new, by inscribing or altering an old object, or by placing a genuine object where it was not found. Three kinds of test bear on it. Excavation under control checks whether objects lie in undisturbed soil, with roots and sediment grown around them, or in loose fill; the 1927 Glozel commission relied on this [@boschgimpera1927rapport]. Materials analysis looks for modern inclusions such as dyed fibres, fresh plant matter or coal, and for firing or patina histories that do not fit the claimed age [@barbetti1976archaeomagnetic] [@wikipedia-glozel]. Typology and epigraphy ask whether the forms and signs could have been known to a modern maker from print, and whether new types appear in the finds only after their models were published; Dussaud and Vayson de Pradenne built the Glozel case this way [@dussaud1927inscriptions] [@vayson1927chronologie]. A forgery can sit inside a genuine site, which is why the Glozel state team speaks of a real deposit enlarged by manipulation rather than a simple fake [@daugas1995resume]. The Piltdown skull and the Saitapharnes tiara are the standard comparisons.

## Where it comes up

**[Vinča signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)**

[Q: When were the Tărtăria tablets made, and are they genuine Neolithic objects from the pit Vlassa described?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/questions/QST0DEDW337CVM0/when-were-the-tartaria-tablets-made-and-are-they-genuine)

## Sources 6

[Résumé des recherches effectuées à Glozel entre 1983 et 1990, sous l'égide du ministère de la Culture](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ8461BM1/resume-des-recherches-effectuees-a-glozel-entre-1983-et-1990)

SRC

[À propos de Glozel: Rapport de la Commission Internationale](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJNXDSP88/a-propos-de-glozel-rapport-de-la-commission-internationale)

SRC

[Autour des inscriptions de Glozel](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJP4XXMKB/autour-des-inscriptions-de-glozel)

SRC

[Chronologie de Glozel](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJQCBRA5V/chronologie-de-glozel)

SRC

[Archaeomagnetic analyses of six Glozelian ceramic artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK6S7H6VF/archaeomagnetic-analyses-of-six-glozelian-ceramic-artifacts)

SRC

[Glozel artifacts (Wikipedia)](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKMG0NXP9/glozel-artifacts-wikipedia)

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Archaeological forgery [Concept CPT0DEDZB86XVEY]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DEDZB86XVEY
```

Key

**CPT** 0DEDZB86XVEY

Record

Concept

Field

Archaeology

Related

[Radiocarbon dating](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW013KR34/radiocarbon-dating) · [Thermoluminescence dating](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01EV5D0/thermoluminescence-dating) · [Palaeography](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW05E35K0/palaeography)

Version

1

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

**How this page is made.** The definition is the site's, in its own words. “Where it comes up” is read from the answers, methods and evidence that name the concept.

Related concepts

[Radiocarbon dating](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW013KR34/radiocarbon-dating)[Thermoluminescence dating](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01EV5D0/thermoluminescence-dating)[Palaeography](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW05E35K0/palaeography)

The record

Every record is open data. Take this one as JSON, with its links and its history.

[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/CPT0DEDZB86XVEY)