Abstract
Most surviving biblical period Hebrew inscriptions are ostraca-ink-on-clay texts. They are poorly preserved and once unearthed, fade rapidly. Therefore, proper and timely documentation of ostraca is essential. Here we show a striking example of a hitherto invisible text on the back side of an ostracon revealed via multispectral imaging. This ostracon, found at the desert fortress of Arad and dated to ca. 600 BCE (the eve of Judah's destruction by Nebuchadnezzar), has been on display for half a century. Its front side has been thoroughly studied, while its back side was considered blank. Our research revealed three lines of text on the supposedly blank side and four "new" lines on the front side. Our results demonstrate the need for multispectral image acquisition for both sides of all ancient ink ostraca. Moreover, in certain cases we recommend employing multispectral techniques for screening newly unearthed ceramic potsherds prior to disposal.
MeSH terms
-
Bible
-
Documentation / history*
-
History, Ancient
-
Humans
-
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation*
Grants and funding
This study was supported by a generous donation from Mr. Jacques Chahine, made through the French Friends of Tel Aviv University. The research received initial funding from the Israel Science Foundation – F.I.R.S.T. (Bikura) Individual Grant no. 644/08, as well as the Israel Science Foundation Grant no. 1457/13 (
https://www.isf.org.il/#/). It was also funded by the European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 229418 (
https://erc.europa.eu/), and by an Early Israel grant (New Horizons project), Tel Aviv University. Arie Shaus is grateful to the Azrieli Foundation for the award of an Azrieli Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.