Israeli Archaeologists Find Ancient Text
HIRBET QEIYAFA, Israel (Oct. 30) - An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.
The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of the Old Testament's King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa.
Other scholars are hesitant to embrace Garfinkel's interpretation of the finds, made public on Thursday. The discoveries are already being wielded in a vigorous and ongoing argument over whether the Bible's account of events and geography is meant to be taken literally.
Hirbet Qeiyafa sits near the modern Israeli city of Beit Shemesh in the Judean foothills, an area that was once the frontier between the hill-dwelling Israelites and their enemies, the coastal Philistines. The site overlooks the Elah Valley, said to be the scene of the slingshot showdown between David and the Philistine giant Goliath, and lies near the ruins of Goliath's hometown in the Philistine metropolis of Gath.
A teenage volunteer found the curved pottery shard, 6 inches by 6 inches, in July near the stairs and stone washtub of an excavated home. It was later discovered to bear five lines of characters known as proto-Canaanite, a precursor of the Hebrew alphabet.
Carbon-14 analysis of burnt olive pits found in the same layer of the site dated them to between 1000 and 975 B.C., the same time as the Biblical golden age of David's rule in Jerusalem.
After riding around a couple of days ago with a British professor/engineer, I find this story quite intersting and, goes to the point of the conversation he and I were having. That conversation being that, "there is still so much on this planet that humans have no clue about and have yet to discover. Most of what we believe is nothing more than hypothetical speculation. Most of which is nothing more than myth". It is nice when we come across something that CAN substantiate some of what we believe. Maybe, this is one of those things.
For the rest of this story and some great pictures to get YOU in the moment, go toIsraeli Archaeologists Find Ancient Text
"Keep Searching, YOU Will Find,"
