First Temple period seal with the name Shaul found in City of David excavations

IMRa ^ | 5-20-09

[SJackson]

First Temple period seal with the name Shaul found in City of David excavations

A photo of the seal in high resolution can be downloaded from this link - www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14

Press Release Tuesday May 19, 2009

A Bone Seal Engraved with the Name Shaul, from the Time of the First Temple, was Found in the IAA Excavations in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park, in the City of David

The seal was displayed during a visit there by the Knesset presidium prior to Jerusalem Day

Today (Tuesday) the Knesset presidium, headed by Speaker Reuben Rivlin, visited the City of David in Jerusalem. A Hebrew seal that dates to the time of the First Temple was displayed for the first time during the visit. The seal was found in an excavation that is being conducted in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority, under the direction of Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the IAA, and underwritten by the 'Ir David Foundation'.

The seal, which is made of bone, was found broken and is missing a piece from its upper right side. Two parallel lines divide the surface of the seal into two registers in which Hebrew letters are engraved.

A period followed by a floral image or a tiny fruit appear at the end of the bottom name.

The name of the seal's owner was completely preserved and it is written in the shortened form of the name Shaul. The name is known from both the Bible (Genesis 36:37; 1 Samuel 9:2; 1 Chronicles 4:24 and 6:9) and from other Hebrew seals.

According to Professor Reich, "This seal joins another Hebrew seal that was previously found and three Hebrew bullae (pieces of clay stamped with seal impressions) that were discovered nearby. These five items have great chronological importance regarding the study of the development of the use of seals. While the numerous bullae that were discovered in the adjacent rock-hewn pool were found together with pottery sherds from the end of the ninth and beginning of the eighth centuries BCE, they do not bear any Semitic letters. On the other hand, the five Hebrew epigraphic artifacts were recovered from the soil that was excavated outside the pool, which contained pottery sherds that date to the last part of the eighth century.

It seems that the development in the design of the seals occurred in Judah during the course of the eighth century BCE. At the same time as they engraved figures on the seal, at some point they also started to engrave them with the names of the seals' owners. This was apparently when they started to identify the owner of the seal by his name rather than by some sort of graphic representation."

It appears that the "office" which administered the correspondence and received the goods that were all sealed with bullae continued to exist and operate within a regular format even after a residential dwelling was constructed inside the same "rock-hewn pool" and the soil and the refuse that contained the many aforementioned bullae were trapped beneath its floor. This "office" continued to generate refuse that included bullae, which were opened and broken, as well as seals that were no longer used and were discarded into the heap of rubbish that continued to accumulate in the vicinity.

A photo of the seal in high resolution can be downloaded from this link - www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14

[SandRat]

aww-Minni-Nut-Job and the Palis are not gonna like that.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Assuming that this is supposed to be King Saul’s seal what would it be doing in Davidic Jerusalem, since Jerusalem was not an Israeli city until David conquered it?

[agrace]

Very cool.

[SJackson]

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He was, of course, a palestinian.

I'm open to correction, but found, I believe, in the vicinity of the homes illegally built on an archeological site by modern day palestinians. No wonder they don't want all expenses paid moves to new homes, we might discover Jews once lived there after all.

[rawcatslyentist]

When will they find the imaginary fossilized flying horse coprolite?

Thank You Satan 1:50

[agrace]

Can’t be, it’s dated too late. The article says that they started putting names on the seals around or after the 8th century BCE, and Saul became king around 1050. Has to be a different Shaul.

From the article - “It seems that the development in the design of the seals occurred in Judah during the course of the eighth century BCE. At the same time as they engraved figures on the seal, at some point they also started to engrave them with the names of the seals’ owners. This was apparently when they started to identify the owner of the seal by his name rather than by some sort of graphic representation.”

[SJackson]

I don’t know, but they were contemporaries, like finding a GHW Bush campaign button in the Clinton Library, doesn’t strike me as that odd.

[Islander7]

[SJackson]

A good point, but maybe we're jumping to conclusions here. My bold,

The name of the seal's owner was completely preserved and it is written in the shortened form of the name Shaul. The name is known from both the Bible (Genesis 36:37; 1 Samuel 9:2; 1 Chronicles 4:24 and 6:9) and from other Hebrew seals. .

The article isn't stating it's Saul, per the citations, only referencing the existance of the name, which makes sense.

[FreepShop1]

I am amazed any Jewish artifacts are left, given that Israel allows the Muslim “Wakf” to control all archeological digs on the Temple Mount. There is ample evidence that Muslims have destroyed Jewish artifacts. It is beyond insanity that Israel still permits these cockroaches to control the Mount.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

i guess the point is that a name which still exists existed at least as far back as the 9th century BC, so that those who claim that the Bible is all a later invention have another point against their nonsense. The idiot muslims who claim that there were no Jews at that period have another strike against them.

[SJackson]

i guess the point is that a name which still exists existed at least as far back as the 9th century BC, so that those who claim that the Bible is all a later invention have another point against their nonsense.

Amazing isn't it, Biblical archeology began well over a century ago to disprove the Biblical nonsense. Times change.

[agrace]

Exactly - archeological finds invariably prove the Bible rather than disproving it, much to the annoyance of some, no doubt.

[vetvetdoug]

I thought the First Temple was built by King Soloman after the death of David somewhere around 971 B.C. or is this the same Temple mentioned in Kings?

[SJackson]

Give or take a few years. You might note the previous posts, Shaul not necessarily being King Saul. I don’t think the article was really trying to pin things down, the First Temple period ending 9th of Av, 586 bc, the seal fits the timeline.

[Quix]

Let’s try it this way:

http://www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

another one:

[Prophet in the wilderness]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_ancient_inscription;_ylt=AoyndOVsF9IFEdMYOZ7Ym8ALewgF