Tell es-Safi inscription

The Tell es-Safi inscription was found in 2005 at the archaeological site at Tell es-Safi, identified with the biblical city of Gath. It was under the destruction layer at the beginning of Iron Age IIA (1000–925 BCE).

Excavations at Tell es-Safi

Seven letters, interpreted as two words, are written on the piece of pottery: "ALWT" (אלות) and "WLT" (ולת). This was initially suggested to be similar to what would have been the name of Goliath (גלית), the famous Biblical character from Gath.

Written in Proto-Canaanite, it is the “earliest known alphabetic inscription from an Iron Age Philistine site in a well defined context”.

Bibliography

The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project
Maeir, A.M., Wimmer, S.J., Zukerman, A. et Demsky, A. 2008, A Late Iron Age I/Early Iron Age II Old Canaanite Inscription from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: Palaeography, Dating, and Historical-Cultural Significance, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 351, 39-71.

gollark: rust rust --rust /rust/rust/rust.rust

gollark: At http://rust-is.cool, obviously.

gollark: r u s t w i k i

gollark: Needs more Rust.

gollark: Yes, I have that app.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.