[Jlab-seminars] Today's Pizza Seminar @ 12:00: Eli Piasetzky; Imaging and Analysis of Hebrew First Temple (Iron Age II) Ostraca

[Stephanie Tysor]

Pizza Seminar 

Eli Piasetzky 

School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University 



Imaging and Analysis of Hebrew First Temple (Iron Age II) Ostraca 



Abstract: 



An ostracon is a piece of pottery or stone that contains writing. We have been studying ostraca written in the ancient Hebrew alphabet from the first Temple era Iron Age II). 

We performed an algorithmic handwriting analysis of 16 ostraca unearthed at an excavation in the far-flung desert fort of Arad, and deduced that the texts had been written by at least six authors. The content of the inscriptions disclosed that reading and writing abilities had existed throughout the Judah military chain of command, from the highest echelon all the way down to the deputy quartermaster of the fort. 

Considering the remoteness of Arad, the small garrison stationed there, and the narrowly constrained period of the inscriptions, this finding indicates a high literacy rate within Judah’s administrative apparatus – and provides a suitable background for the composition of a critical mass of biblical texts. 





Wednesday, July 18 , 2018 


12:00am 

CEBAF F113 

-- 
Stephanie Tysor 
Hall A Administrative Assistant 
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility 
(office)757-269-6005 (fax)757-269-5235 
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