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A magnified image of letters from 900-925 BC on that rock, which was found in July. (AP)
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| By Associated Press November 9, 2005 |
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| P. Kyle McCarter, an epigrapher and professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at John Hopkins University, talks about the significance of the alphabet found on a rock at the Zeitah Excavations archaeological dig at Tel Zayat, Israel, during a news conference in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005. (AP) |
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Two lines of an alphabet inscribed on a stone found in Israel will spur debate on whether ancient Israelites were literate, experts said.
Scholars say the discovery by Pittsburgh archaeologist Ron E. Tappy, a professor at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, is the most concrete evidence that Israelites were literate as early as the 10th century B.C.
"This is very rare. This stone will be written about for many years to come," Tappy said Wednesday at a news conference. "This makes it very historically probable there were people in the 10th century (B.C.) who could write."
Christopher Rollston, an associate professor of Semitic studies at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee, who was not involved in the find, said the writing is likely Phoenician or a transitional language between Phoenician and Hebrew.
But that is not crucial, he said, because "we have little epigraphic material from the 10th century in Israel, and so this substantially augments the material we have."
The stone was found during a dig in June at Tel Zayit, in the lowlands of ancient Judah.
P. Kyle McCarter, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins University, is joining Tappy and two other researchers in analyzing the inscription.
"It will be used to debunk skeptics," McCarter said. "It will supply more grist for the mill."
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