No, this is not the skeleton of biblical giant Goliath

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 16, 2018 at 10:00
1 min read
By AFP Philippines

A widely-shared Facebook post contains an image which it claims shows the skeleton of the biblical giant Goliath. A reverse image search found the photograph first appeared online in 2007. The photographer told AFP it is of the sculpture "Calamita Cosmica" created by an Italian artist.

The post carries this caption: “The Skeleton of Goliath found in Jerusalem. The Word of God is so true!! Please keep sharing this to spread the gospel”.

Here is a screenshot of the post and image, which had been shared hundreds of times:

A reverse image search found that the photo first appeared online in 2007 on the Flickr photo-sharing account of a man named Mauro Pipponzi.

Pipponzi confirmed to AFP that he had taken the picture and said it showed the “Calamita Cosmica” or “Cosmic Magnet” -- a sculpture by Italian artist Gino De Dominicis.

“I did (take the photo) in 2007 when it was on display at Palazzo Reale in Milan,” he said.

The sculpture has been shown several times in public, including in Foligno, Italy and Florence, Italy.

Gino De Dominicis died in 1998 in Rome.

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