<html><body><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><p style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; padding: 0in; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Pizza Seminar</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; padding: 0in; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"><br data-mce-bogus="1"></span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Eli Piasetzky</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Imaging and Analysis of Hebrew First Temple (Iron Age II) Ostraca</span></strong></em></p><p style="margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" data-mce-style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Abstract:</span></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="margin: 0px;"><em><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">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).</span></em></p><p style="margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="margin: 0px;"><em><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">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.</span></em></p><p style="border: medium none; padding: 0in; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="padding: 0in; margin: 0px;"><em><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">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.</span></em></p><p style="border: medium none; padding: 0in; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="padding: 0in; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Wednesday, July 18, 2018<br></span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">11:00am</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;" data-mce-style="text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" data-mce-style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">CEBAF Auditorium</span></strong></p></div><div><br></div><div data-marker="__SIG_POST__">-- <br></div><div>Stephanie Tysor<br>Hall A Administrative Assistant<br>Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility<br>(office)757-269-6005 (fax)757-269-5235</div></div></body></html>