Mnamon
Ancient writing systems in the Mediterranean
A critical guide to electronic resources
News
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2008-11-26
New finds in Khirbet Qeiyafa
Last July, among the ruins of an ancient fortified town, inscribed pottery fragments were found at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Bet Shemesh in Israel. The most ancient, according to a first analysis, is likely to date at the first quarter of the 10th century B.C. It contains an inscription of five lines; the others, which are more recent and smaller, have also been dated to the 10th century. It is still uncertain the identification of both the inhabitants of the site (Canaanites? Philistines? Israelites?) and, as a consequence, of their written language (late Canaanite? Phoenician? Hebrew?)
International Herald Tribune
(D. Tripaldi)