Archeologist revises read of ancient seal inscription
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 4, 2008
A prominent Israeli archeologist said Monday that she has revised her
reading of an inscription on an ancient seal uncovered in an
archeological excavation in Jerusalem's City of David after various
scholars around the world critiqued her original interpretation of the
name on the seal.
The 2,500 year-old black stone seal was found last month amid
stratified layers of debris in the excavation under way just outside
the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said archeologist Dr. Eilat
Mazar, who is leading the dig.
Mazar had originally read the name on the seal as "Temech," and
suggested that it belonged to the family of that name mentioned in the
Book of Nehemiah.
But after the find was first reported in The Jerusalem Post, various
epigraphers around the world said Mazar had erred by reading the
inscription on the seal straight on (from right to left) rather than
backwards (from left to right), as a result of the fact that a seal
creates a mirror image when used to inscribe a piece of clay.
The critics, including the European scholar Peter van der Veen, as
well as the epigrapher Ryan Byrne, co-director of the Tel Dan
excavations, suggested in Internet blogs that the correct reading of
the seal is actually "Shlomit," also a biblical name.
Mazar said Monday that she accepted the reading of "Shlomit" on the
ancient seal, and added that she appreciated the scholarly research on
the issue.
....More on the
The three-year-old east Jerusalem dig is being sponsored by the Shalem
Center, a Jerusalem research institute, where Mazar serves as a senior
fellow, and the City of David Foundation, which promotes Jewish
settlement throughout east Jerusalem.Source Site
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