All those Indiana Joneses out there today will be looking for the Arc of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. Some real archeologists in Jerusalem discovered what he says is the oldest Hebrew text dating back about 3,000 years. That puts the text at the time of King David from the Old Testament.Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the inscribed pottery shard, known as an ostracon, was found during excavations of a fortress from the 10th century BC.
Carbon and pottery dating places the shard at 3,000 years old, a millennium older than the famous Dead-Sea Scrolls.
The 6 square inch shard contains five lines of ancient Hebrew text divided by black lines. The text has yet to be deciphered, but archeologists were able to make out the words "judge," "slave" and "king." The university believes the shard may contain a legal text that could provide insight into law, society and beliefs.
The shard was discovered at the Elah Fortress in Khirbet Qeiyafa, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Excavations began there in June. So far, just four percent of the site has been excavated, the university said.
