Authenticity and Scholarship

The claim was that the relics were genuine ancient artifacts documenting an Old World presence in America. The case against them was strong from early on and is now conclusive. The inscriptions combine incompatible scripts in ways no real ancient culture would, and the biblical scenes reflect nineteenth-century Christian iconography; the workmanship is fresh and betrays modern tools. In 1911 Scotford's own stepdaughter said she had seen him manufacture the objects.

In 2001 the Oakland University archaeologist Richard Stamps subjected a sample to modern forensic examination, looking at tool marks, patina, and materials, and concluded that they were forgeries. The BYU Studies treatment by Ashurst-McGee, Grua and Jensen documents both the fraud and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' handling of the material, including its decision to transfer its portion to the Michigan History Museum in 2003. No scholarly authority defends the relics as authentic; they endure as one of the largest and longest-running archaeological frauds in American history.