An economic inscription from 2,000 years ago has been uncovered on the Pilgrims' Road in the City of David – Jerusalem's main street from the Second Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority reported Wednesday. The inscription, which was uncovered in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, was apparently a receipt or list of payments to employees, written by a person who was engaged in commercial activity that took place in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period.
Who was "Shimon" whose name appears in a 2,000-year-old Hebrew inscription? Excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park, funded by Elad (El City of David), revealed a small fragment of a stone slab bearing an inscription that was used for economic purposes. About seven lines were preserved from the inscription, in which several letters and fragments of Hebrew names were identified, along with numbers. Thus, for example, in one line appears the end of the name "Shimon" with the letter "Mem" next to it, and in other lines there are number markings. Some of the numbers are preceded by their economic value, denoted by the letter "Mem" as an abbreviation for "ma'ot", or with the letter Rish as an abbreviation for "quarters".
In an article recently published in the journal Atiqot, Nachshon Zenton, director of the excavation from the Israel Antiquities Authority, and his research partner, Prof. Esther Eshel of Bar-Ilan University, noted that to date, four other similar Hebrew inscriptions have been documented in the study, in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, indicating names and numbers engraved on similar stone tablets, also from the Early Roman period, but this is the first inscription uncovered to date within the city limits of Jerusalem.
According to the researchers, "The inscription was engraved in a sharp vessel on a slab made of soft limestone. The stone slab was probably originally used as a covering slab for an ossuary (small stone coffin), an item that was common in Jerusalem and Judea during the Early Roman period (37 BCE to 70 CE). For the most part, ossuaries are usually found in graves outside the city, but there is also their presence within the city limits – perhaps as part of a local workshop or a shop that sold them."
City of David in Jerusalem, Photo: GettyImages
The intriguing find was discovered within Jerusalem's lower city square, located along the route of the Pilgrims' Road. The road, which stretches for about 600 meters, connected the city gate and the Siloam Pool area in the south of the City of David with the gates of the Temple Mount and the Second Temple, and in fact served as Jerusalem's main longitudinal street at that time. The special finding joins a series of other finds discovered at the site, such as weights and a table for measuring volumes. These testify to the economic character of the region.
The stone slab engraved with the inscription was discovered in the trench of a previous excavation that took place at the site. This canal was excavated at the end of the 19th century by a pair of British archaeologists, Bliss and Dickie, who dug trenches and shafts along the terraced street. Although the inscription was found outside its original archaeological context, thanks to the type of writing, the type of stone slab on which the inscription was engraved, and parallels from other inscriptions, this inscription can be dated to the Early Roman period - the end of the Second Temple period.
"The daily life of the residents of Jerusalem, who lived here 2000,<> years ago, in this case, is expressed precisely in the ordinary and simple form of everyday objects," the researchers said. "Ostensibly, the list of names and numbers is not such an exciting thing, but to think that just like today, receipts were used for commercial purposes in the past and such receipts came into our hands, is a rare and gratifying thing that allows a glimpse into the ordinary and simple life that took place in the Temple City of Jerusalem."
According to Zenton and Prof. Eshel, "The combination of the architectural and tangible space of the square's enormous paving stones that were preserved at the site and the small finds uncovered there, such as the measuring table and the new inscription, makes it possible to reconstruct parts of the archaeological puzzle in one of the centers of vibrant life that existed in ancient Jerusalem. Every piece of information – and certainly an ancient inscription – adds a new and fascinating shade to the history of the city."
Minister Amichai Eliyahu, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
The Minister of Heritage, Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, said: "The special discovery on the Pilgrims' Way in Jerusalem reveals another part of Jewish life in the city already 2,000 years ago. The unique excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority at the site position the City of David as an international historical center of the Jewish people. The Ministry of Heritage will continue to work to strengthen and promote national heritage at all levels."
Israel Antiquities Authority Director Eli Escozido commented on the discovery of the find, saying: "The pilgrims' road currently being exposed in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem is one of the flagship excavations currently being conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, and it is no coincidence that the many finds discovered as part of the excavation shed light on the centrality of this road during the Second Temple period as well. Each such finding helps us understand the entire area and enables a deeper understanding of the role of the street in the lives of the residents of Jerusalem 2000,<> years ago."
Eli Escozido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (Archives), Photo: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority
Head of Heritage at the Nature and Parks Authority, Dr. Yossi Bordovich: "The excavations on the pilgrims' route in the national park around the walls of Jerusalem prove once again that together with the vibrant life around the Temple, the daily life of the city's residents went on as usual. Whether by individuals or by local government that will strengthen the city's streets, all partners are still working to expose and preserve remnants of the past for the benefit of current and future visitors."
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