Here's the temporary press release the Israeli Antiquities Authority (for you Hebrew and MSS buffs, here's a link to a great high quality image of the MS that is also provided at the end of the press release):
A Rare 2,000 Year Old Hebrew Document Written on Papyrus was
Seized in an Operation
The director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities
Robbery in the Israel Antiquities Authority: “It seems we are dealing
with rare historic evidence regarding the Jewish people in their
country from more than 2,000 years ago”.
A document thought to be an ancient text written on papyrus was
seized yesterday (Tuesday) in an operation led by the Intelligence
Office of the Zion Region and the Undercover Unit of the Border Police
in Jerusalem, in cooperation with the Unit for the Prevention of
Antiquities Robbery and the Archaeological Staff Officer in the Civil
Administration.
The document is written in ancient
Hebrew script, which is characteristic of the Second Temple period and
the first and second centuries CE. This style of the writing is
primarily known from the Dead Sea scrolls and various inscriptions that
occur on ossuaries and coffins. The document itself is written on
papyrus. The papyrus is incomplete and was in all likelihood rolled up.
It is apparent that pieces of it crumbled mainly along its bottom part.
The holes along the left part of the document probably attest to the
damage that was caused to it over time. The document measures 15 x 15
centimeters.
Fifteen lines of Hebrew text, written
from right to left and one below the other, can be discerned in the
document. In the upper line of the text one can clearly read the
sentence “Year 4 to the destruction of Israel”. This is likely to be
the year 74 CE – in the event the author of the document is referring
to the year when the Second Temple was destroyed during the Great
Revolt. Another possibility is the year 139 CE – in the event the
author is referring to the time when the rural settlement in Judah was
devastated at the end of the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
The name of a woman, “Miriam Barat Ya‘aqov”, is also legible in the
document followed by a name that is likely to be that of the settlement
where she resided: Misalev. This is probably the settlement Salabim.
The name Miriam Bat Ya‘aqov is a common name in the Second Temple
period. Also mentioned in the document are the names of other people
and families, the names of a number of ancient settlements from the
Second Temple period and legal wording which deals with the property of
a widow and her relinquishment of it.
According to Amir Ganor, director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery in the Israel Antiquities Authority,
“Theoretically, based on the epigraphic style, the material the
document is written on, the state of preservation and the text, which
includes a historic date that can be deciphered, we are dealing with a
document that appears to be ancient as defined by the Antiquities Law.
Since this object was not discovered in a proper archaeological
excavation, it still must undergo laboratory analyses in order to
negate the possibility it is a modern forgery”. Ganor adds, “The
document is very important from the standpoint of historical and
national research. Until now almost no historic scrolls or documents
from this period have been discovered in proper archaeological
excavations. A historic document that can be definitely dated based on
a reference to a historical event such as the ‘destruction of Israel’
has never been discovered. Much can be learned from this document about
the names of people, their surnames names and the locations of
settlements in Israel during this period. From an initial reading it
seems that this document deals with the property of Miriam Bat Ya‘aqov,
who was apparently a widow. The deciphering of the entire document by
expert epigraphers and historians may shed light on how the people of
the period managed their affairs and supplement our knowledge about
their way of life. What we have here is rare historic evidence about
the Jewish people in their country from more than 2,000 years ago,
during the days following the destruction which sent the people of
Israel into exile for a very long time – until the creation of the
State of Israel”.
Photograph: The Scroll Conservation Laboratory, Israel Antiquities Authority.
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