Zayit Stone
Encyclopedia
The Zayit Stone is a 38-pound limestone boulder excavated from Tel Zayit (Zeitah) in southwest Israel
(the Beth Guvrin Valley about 35 miles from Jerusalem). It carries what appears to be an inscribed abecedary
(18 letters carved in the first line; at least 2 in the second line with 2 terminating symbols) and remnants of several other inscriptions (at least 3 words plus 2 other pairs of terminating symbols).
ילכמנספעצwאבגדוהחזט
|| ק ש
(Note: The "w" between the Tet and Yod may be an aborted Mem, a misplaced Shin, or a random scribbling.)
The side opposite this inscription has a bowl-shaped depression. Elsewhere, the stone also bears graffiti
inscriptions, "help/warrior" (עזר) and "bowl/throne" (כס).
At an SBL presentation in November 2005, Ron Tappy seemed to favour the idea that the stone bowl (the reverse side of the stone block) had originally been used as a mortar for grinding herbs or equivalent usage. Tappy expressed his opinion that it was unlikely, for physical reasons, that the inscription was carved after the stone was placed in the wall. At the same event P. Kyle McCarter, the epigrapher attached to the Tel Zeitah excavation, characterised the inscription as an abecedary, and said that the letter-forms suggest a South Canaanite development from the Phoenician base alphabet. In questioning after the presentation, McCarter added that the inscription (which he had earlier said was apparently the work of a good scribe) was a practice piece (he had earlier mentioned that it gave him the impression of carelessness).
The primary significance of the inscription will be for the development of early South Levant alphabets and letter-forms. It is not yet certain how old the inscription is - the destruction level indicates a date for the wall, but it is not known how much earlier than this the inscription is. McCarter has elsewhere suggested that the letter-forms are comparable to those of the Gezer calendar
, and date from the early to mid-11th century.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(the Beth Guvrin Valley about 35 miles from Jerusalem). It carries what appears to be an inscribed abecedary
Abecedarium
An abecedarium is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria are practice exercises....
(18 letters carved in the first line; at least 2 in the second line with 2 terminating symbols) and remnants of several other inscriptions (at least 3 words plus 2 other pairs of terminating symbols).
Description
One side of the stone carries the abecedary, or alphabet, extending over 2 lines:ילכמנספעצwאבגדוהחזט
|| ק ש
(Note: The "w" between the Tet and Yod may be an aborted Mem, a misplaced Shin, or a random scribbling.)
The side opposite this inscription has a bowl-shaped depression. Elsewhere, the stone also bears graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
inscriptions, "help/warrior" (עזר) and "bowl/throne" (כס).
Circumstances of the discovery
Excavations under the direction of R.E. Tappy have been conducted at Tel Zayit during 1999-2001, 2005, 2007, and 2009-2011. . A volunteer excavator, Dan Rypma, discovered the stone on July 15, 2005.Significance
The inscription was discovered in what appears to be a secondary usage as a building stone in a wall. Its locus was a stratum caused by a fire dated by the excavators to the 10th century BCE, meaning that the inscription dates from before that century. It preserves writing – simple graffiti – plus an ordered list of letters (although there are 4 pairs of letters swapped from their modern alphabetic order, and possibly 2 other omitted or aborted letters). Its placement in a wall, and the context of its inscriptions ("help/warrior" and "bowl/throne") may indicate a belief that the letters possessed magical/apotropaic power to ward off evil spirits.At an SBL presentation in November 2005, Ron Tappy seemed to favour the idea that the stone bowl (the reverse side of the stone block) had originally been used as a mortar for grinding herbs or equivalent usage. Tappy expressed his opinion that it was unlikely, for physical reasons, that the inscription was carved after the stone was placed in the wall. At the same event P. Kyle McCarter, the epigrapher attached to the Tel Zeitah excavation, characterised the inscription as an abecedary, and said that the letter-forms suggest a South Canaanite development from the Phoenician base alphabet. In questioning after the presentation, McCarter added that the inscription (which he had earlier said was apparently the work of a good scribe) was a practice piece (he had earlier mentioned that it gave him the impression of carelessness).
The primary significance of the inscription will be for the development of early South Levant alphabets and letter-forms. It is not yet certain how old the inscription is - the destruction level indicates a date for the wall, but it is not known how much earlier than this the inscription is. McCarter has elsewhere suggested that the letter-forms are comparable to those of the Gezer calendar
Gezer calendar
The Gezer calendar is a tablet of soft limestone inscription, dating to the 10th century BCE. Scholars are divided as to whether the script and language are Phoenician or paleo-Hebrew, which were linguistically very similar in this period....
, and date from the early to mid-11th century.