Ostracon - Biblical Period Ostraca

Biblical Period Ostraca

See also: List of artifacts significant to the Bible

Famous ostraca for Biblical archaeology have been found at:

• Arad, Israel, or Tel Arad
• Lachish
• Mesad Hashavyahu
• Ostraca House at Samaria
• Elah Fortress at Khirbet Qeiyafa

Additionally, the lots drawn at Masada are believed to have been ostraca, and some potsherds resembling the lots have been found.

In October 2008, Israeli archaeologist, Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has discovered what he says to be the earliest known Hebrew text. This text was written on an Ostracon shard; Garfinkel believes this shard dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. Carbon dating of the Ostracon and analysis of the pottery have dated the inscription to be about 1,000 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. The inscription has yet to be deciphered, however, some words, such as king, slave and judge have been translated. The shard was found about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem at the Elah Fortress in Khirbet Qeiyafa, the earliest known fortified city of the biblical period of Israel.