2,500-year-old receipt from the reign of the father of King Purim discovered in Israel

News » Science & Technology

A traveler in Israel's Judean Lowlands recently discovered a 2,500-year-old piece of pottery inscribed with the name of King Darius the Great of Persia, father of King Artaxerxes. The Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday , this is the first discovery of an inscription with the name of Darius I in Israel, writes The Times of Israel.

The site of the find, the ancient city of Lachish, was a prosperous city and a major administrative center 2500 years ago. The inscription is believed to be a receipt about the receipt or shipment of goods.

A pottery shard used as a writing surface bears the Aramaic inscription “Darius 24”, dated to 498 BC. Darius I ruled from 522 to 486 BC. BC, at this time the Persian Empire occupied most of the ancient world. But so far, no written evidence of the reign of Darius has been found in Israel.

Traveler Eilon Levy, President Yitzhak Herzog's international media adviser, was walking around Tel Lachish last December when he picked up a stone with strange markings on it. write.

“I thought it was a joke right away when I picked it up. — Levy said.

Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who oversees the excavations at Tel Lachish, met with Levy at the presidential residence and took the shard for further examination. After scanning and laboratory testing, the authenticity of the shard was established.

Levy found the ostraca in the ruins of the Persian royal administration building at Tel Lachish, which was first excavated in 1930 and has hosted hundreds of archaeologists over the decades. Archaeologists believe the ostraca may have been an administrative note such as a receipt for the goods or their shipment.

“Oddly enough, [the shard] was next to a wooden pavilion built for visitors. It was right there, right under everyone's nose all this time,” Levy said.

Follow us on Telegram