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.
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