Archaeologists Unearth Earliest Text Ever Found in Jerusalem

Archaeologists have made a historic find. They've unearthed the earliest alphabetical written text ever uncovered in Jerusalem. The new discovery could lead to a better understanding of the area's ancient past, and shows that writing was practiced during the biblical times of David and Solomon.

The inscription itself is engraved on a large pithos, which is a neckless ceramic jar. This jar was discovered with six others at the Ophel excavation site located near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This ancient site contains the remains of the City of David in the Old City of Jerusalem. Over the years, it's provided a wealth of artifacts as archaeologists continue to unearth structures, such as ancient fire pits.

The writing on the jar is dated to the tenth century BCE. That means it predates by 250 years the earliest known Hebrew inscription from Israel, which is from the period of King Hezekiah at the end of the eighth century BCE. The inscription is engraved near the edge of the jar before it was fired, and the jar itself probably first originated near the central hill country near Jerusalem. Over years of use, the jar eventually shattered, leaving behind only shattered remains. These remains were then used to stabilize the earth fill under the second floor of a building, which dates to the Earl Iron IIA period-the tenth century BCE.

Because the jars were mere fragments, this also means that the writing is fragmentary. Even so, the scientists made sure to fully examine what text there is on the small piece of the jar, which is a proto-Canaanite script of the eleventh-to-tenth centuries BCE. In fact, it predates the Israelite rule and the prevalence of Hebrew script.

What exactly does the text say? Apparently it contains a combination of letters which roughly translate to m, q, p, h, n, (possibly) l and n. Since this combination of letters has no particular meaning in known west-Semitic languages, researchers have been unable to determine what it was meant to say. That said, they believe it's possible that the inscription specified the jar's contents or the name of its owner.

The findings are huge for the archaeologists working on the site. They reveal a little bit more about the history of the area, and lead to a better understanding of the people that lived there.

The findings will be published in the Israel Exploration Journal.