Starting on Wednesday, a section of a stone column bearing a 2,000-year-old inscription that spells out the word "Jerusalem" in full will be on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem as part of a new exhibit of special archaeological finds unearthed in the capital.
The inscription dates to the Second Temple period, or the first century C.E., and features the complete form of the word Jerusalem as we know it today.
The stone bearing the inscription was excavated at an Israel Antiquities Authority dig near the Jerusalem International Convention Center ahead of planned road work. The excavation unearthed the foundations of a Roman-era building supported by pillars. For one stone column drum, the Roman builders reused a stone that had been inscribed in the Aramaic language using Hebrew letters typical to the script used in the Second Temple era, around the time of King Herod.
The three-line inscription reads: "Hananiah son of Dodalos of Jerusalem."
Israel Museum Director Professor Ido Bruno said, "As a resident of Jerusalem, I am extremely excited to read this inscription, written 2,000 years ago, especially when I think that this inscription will be accessible to every child that can read and uses the same script used two millennia ago."
Dr. Yuval Baruch, Jerusalem Regional Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Professor Ronny Reich of Haifa University, who read and studied the inscription, note that "First and Second Temple period inscriptions mentioning Jerusalem are quite rare. But even more unique is the complete spelling of the name as we know it today, which usually appears in the shorthand version. This is the only stone inscription of the Second Temple period known where the full spelling appears. This spelling is only known in one other instance, on a coin of the Great Revolt against the Romans [66-70 C.E.].
"The unusual spelling is also attested to in the Bible, where Jerusalem appears 660 times, with only five mentions – of a relatively late date – having the full spelling (Jeremiah 26:18, Esther 2:6, 2 Chronicles 25:1, 2 Chronicles 32: 9, and 2 Chronicles 25: 1)."
Excavations have been conducted in the area surrounding the convention center for many years, most recently by Danit Levy and Dr. Ron Be'eri of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Levy and Be'eri exposed extensive portions of a potter's quarter, which produced vessels for Jerusalem for a period of over 300 years, spanning the Hasmonean period through to the Late Roman era.
Two additional finds will be on display at the Israel Museum, beginning tomorrow. The first is a Greek mosaic inscription of the sixth century C.E. unearthed near Damascus Gate, commemorating the construction of a public building in Jerusalem in the Byzantine period – likely a hostel – by the emperor Justinian and an abbot by the name of Constantine.
The second is a first century C.E. coffin cover featuring a Hebrew inscription that reads "the son of the high priest." The cover was found in a village estate north of the city, and attests to the high stature and wealth of the priestly families in the Second Temple period.
