The seal excavated in the City of David bears the name of a public official from the 8th century BCE. Photo: Shalem Center / Carla Amit
Posted on 02/29/2008 5:07:44 AM PST by SJackson
An ancient seal bearing an archaic Hebrew inscription dating back to the 8th century BCE has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's City of David, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Thursday.
The seal excavated in the City of David bears the name of a public official from the 8th century BCE. Photo: Shalem Center / Carla Amit
The find reveals that by 2,700 years ago, clerks and merchants had already begun to add their names to the seals instead of the symbols that were used in earlier centuries.
The state-run archeological body said the seal, which was discovered near the Gihon Spring in the City of David outside the walls of the Old City, bears the Hebrew name Rephaihu (ben) Shalem, a public official who lived in the Jerusalem neighborhood during this period.
The excavation, which is being carried out by Haifa University Professor Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, also uncovered pottery shards that date back to the Iron Age 2 (8th century BCE), which they used to date the seal, as well as fragments of three bullae, or pieces of clay that were used to seal letters or goods.
The discovery revealed an interesting development in the ancient world: whereas during the 9th century BCE letters and goods were dispatched on behalf of their senders without names, by the 8th century BCE the clerks and merchants had already begun to add their names to the seals, the archeologists said.
"In contrast with the large cluster of bullae that was found two years ago, in which all of its items contain graphic symbols [such as a boat or different animals - fish, lizards and birds] but are of an earlier date [end of the 9th-beginning of the 8th century BCE], the new items indicate that during the 8th century BCE the practice had changed and the clerks who used the seals began to add their names to them," Reich said.
The excavation, which is being conducted together with the Nature and Parks Authority and the support of the City of David Foundation, is one of several digs taking place in the City of David.
Now what are we supposed to think about this? Jews pioneered government interference?
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
----------------------------
What does BCE stand for?
PC talk, doncha know
"If I were a rich man.......
Let’s see... where did I put that baseball bat...
Nice fur.
??
Except for the estimated date, the seal has absolutely nothing to do with the 1st Temple. The Temple isn't even mentioned in the article.
Stupid headline.
Before Christian Era?
/ducks
Doesn't have to be. It's common shorthand terminology in ancient Israel archaeology to refer to the "pre-Temple", "First Temple", "Second Temple", periods, and so on. 1st Temple just means the period in Israel's history between roughly 950 BC - 586 BC.
In which case the headline should read "Seal dating to 1st Temple..." so as to avoid confusion among the non-archeological public (99.9% of the rest of us).
They’re refering to an artifact dated to a time period, the period of the First Temple, not implying it was associated with the First Temple. It’s a bit confusing.
Yes. You ought to write the Jerusalem Post a polite letter asking them to clean up their act!
He loves them nonetheless.
Nice pelt...
Headline editors annoy the cr@p outta me. I read Biblical Archeology Review on a regular basis (My dad has a subscription), so I'm familiar with the practice of dating archaeological finds in Jerusalem to the Temple periods. When I read that headline, I though they had found a carved lintel or floor stone from the 1st Temple. That would be an amazing find. After I read the article, I knew they were dating it to the 1st Temple period, but the headline doesn't read as if "1st Temple" is a date. That kind of inaccuracy in a headline is all too common whether its the Jerusalem Post or the Washington Post.
Yeah, I should prolly switch to decaf. 
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.