A 2,700-year-old pottery shard discovered near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the first known correspondence between Assyrian kingdom To Kingdom of Judah ever found in the city.
The 1-inch (2.5 centimeter) long shard (the term archaeologists use to describe pottery fragments) is covered in cuneiform text and dates to the First Temple period (1000–586 BC). It appears to contain royal correspondence from the Assyrian Kingdom to the Kingdom of Judah requesting the status of overdue tribute payments.
“The inscription provides direct evidence of official correspondence between the Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah.” Ayala Silberstein– the director of excavations said in a statement on behalf of the IAA. “This discovery strengthens our understanding of the depth of the Assyrian presence in Jerusalem and the extent of its influence and involvement in the affairs of the Kingdom of Judah.”
According to the statement, the shard was found during excavations near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. Researchers found it during “wet sifting” of fragments discovered in Emek Tzurim National Park.
“I was digging in the dirt and suddenly I noticed a shard with a strange decoration on it,” Moriah Cohen, who works at the Archaeological Experience at Emek Tzurim, an attraction that allows visitors to help find artifacts, said in a statement. Cohen added that “having determined decisively that it was not decoration, but indeed cuneiform, I cried out with excitement.”
The shard was found in the mud along the edge of Jerusalem's central drainage canal, which dates to the Second Temple period (516 BC – 70 AD), she added. But the fact that the shard was found there suggests that the area “served as a center of activity for high-ranking ministers and persons” during the First Temple period, Silberstein said.
It is likely that this shard was actually part of a royal seal or impression intended to seal the official letter of the Assyrian court, Assyriologists. Peter ZilbergBar-Ilan University, and Filip Vukosavovicfrom the IAA, wrote in a joint statement.
“Bulls or seals of this type bore an imprint, which was sometimes accompanied by a short inscription in Assyrian cuneiform noting the contents of the dispatch or its purpose,” they said.
This idea confirms the hypothesis that the correspondence was royal about the delay in payment. The text mentions a deadline – the first of Av, the summer month in the Hebrew and Mesopotamian calendar. It also mentions a chariot officer, a position known from Assyrian records, who was supposed to convey the king's message.
Although the message does not mention a king of Judah, it was likely addressed to the court of Kings Hezekiah, Manasseh or Josiah, the latter of whom ruled the kingdom of Judah when it was a vassal kingdom of Assyria, according to the statement.
It is also unclear why the payment was delayed.
“Although we cannot determine the background of this demand, whether it arose due to a simple technical delay or was taken as a deliberate step of political significance, the very existence of such an official appeal seems to indicate a certain friction between Judah and the imperial government,” Zilberg and Vukosavovic said.
Analysis of the shard's material suggests that it was not made in Jerusalem. Anat Cohen-Weinberger– the IAA petrographic researcher said in a statement. Rather, its mineral composition corresponds to cities of the Assyrian kingdom, such as Nineveh.
“Chemical analysis of the bulla's composition is currently underway” to more accurately determine its origin, Cohen-Weinberger added.
The shard may be tiny, but the find is significant, Zilberg and Vukosavovic say.
“The find opens a window into understanding the political and administrative connections between Judea and Assyria,” Zilberg and Vukosavovic explained. “This is the very first evidence of this kind of official and perhaps even intense communication that took place between Jerusalem and the most powerful superpower in the world during the period we are discussing.”
