Jul 11 2010
14th Century BCE Jerusalem Cuneiform Fragment
The oldest known cuneiform tablet fragment from Jerusalem was recently found in a fill area of the Ophel according to Eliat Mazar, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Hebrew University excavations recently unearthed a clay fragment dating back to the 14th century BCE, said to be the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem.
The tiny fragment is only 2 cm. by 2.8 cm. in surface area and 1 cm. thick and appears to have once been part of a larger tablet. Researchers say the ancient fragment testifies to Jerusalem’s importance as a major city late in the Bronze Age, long before it was conquered by King David.
In the article, Wayne Horowitz indicates that it may have been part of the correspondence between Jerusalem and Egypt known from the Amarna tablets.
According to Horowitz, the high quality of the tablet piece indicates that it was most likely part of a message sent from a then-king of Jerusalem to the pharaoh in Egypt. Horowitz said that the fragment, which is made of Jerusalem clay, indicated that Jerusalem was one of the central cities of the area at the time.
The next part is referring to the Siloam Tunnel Inscription, which is of course a linear inscription in Ancient Hebrew and not a cuneiform tablet as the report indicates:
The most ancient piece of writing found in Jerusalem before the Ophel fragment was a tablet unearthed in the Shiloah water in the City of David, dating back to the eighth century BCE – nearly 600 years “younger” than the Ophel find.
(HT: Sasson's List)
UPDATE 1: See Duane's comments for more on Jerusalem scribal traditions.
UPDATE 2: The AlphaGalileo.org article adds little by way of new information.
UPDATE 3:Christopher Rollston weighs in here (with a short addendum by John Huehnergard about a difficulty with the official reading/interpretation).
UPDATE 4: Seth Sanders clarifies nicely what is known about the situation in Late Bronze Age Jerusalem.
UPDATE 5: Seth strikes again bringing the topic of the Canaanite dialect of the Levantine Amarna Texts back into conversation.
One Response to “14th Century BCE Jerusalem Cuneiform Fragment”
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Hi Chip! I have struck again, with an analysis that I hope the philologist in you finds convincing.
http://servingtheword.blogspot.com/2010/07/relatively-clear-new-linguistic-light.html
And on Rollston’s blog, Wilfred van Soldt has offered the first new reconstruction I’ve seen–given his great skill, I’m psyched to see this.