The Ophel ostracon or KAI 190, is an

ostracon An ostracon (Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer to sherds or even small pieces of ston ...

discovered in Jerusalem in 1924 by

R. A. Stewart Macalister Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister (8 July 1870 – 26 April 1950) was an Irish archaeologist. Biography Macalister was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Alexander Macalister, then Professor of Zoology, University of Dublin. His father wa ...

and John Garrow Duncan, in the area of Wadi Hilweh (known as the

City of David "City of David" is a biblical and religious epithet for the ancient city of Jerusalem. It may also refer to: * City of David (archaeological site) - an archaeological excavation associated with ancient Jerusalem * Jerusalem Walls National Park ...

). It is attributed to the 7th century BCE.

Discovery

Macalister and Duncan described the discovery as follows, referring to the 1909 expedition of

Montagu Brownlow Parker Montagu Brownlow Parker, 5th Earl of Morley (13 October 1878 – 28 April 1962) was a British aristocrat and army officer. He became famous for the eponymous expedition he led to Jerusalem starting in 1909 which searched for the Ark of the Co ...

This sherd was discovered in the large cave under Field No. 9, and seems to have formed part of the dump which the Parker party deposited in that cave; its exact original provenance is therefore uncertain, though it must have come from somewhere in the neighboring tunnel, and probably not far off.

The ostracon measures 4 inches by 3 inches. The inscription, written in Pre-Exilic Hebrew, is thought to have originally been eight lines, of which five are decipherable (the first four and the last). According to a 2015 study, "virtually all scholars agree that it contains a list of personal names with theophoric elements." It is currently at the

Rockefeller Museum The Rockefeller Archeological Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum ("PAM"; 1938–1967), and which before then housed The Imperial Museum of Antiquities (''Müze-i Hümayun''; 1901–1917), is an archaeology museum A museum ...

References

{{reflist 1924 archaeological discoveries Hebrew inscriptions KAI inscriptions Ancient Israel and Judah Ostracon

Discovery

See also

References