A Second Temple-Era Ledger Found in Jerusalem

Sifting through dirt and debris discarded during a 19th-century excavation, a team of archaeologists have discovered a brief 2,000-year-old inscription, which is significant because of its very ordinariness. Amanda Borschel-Dan writes:

A broken chalkstone inscribed with seven rows of mundane text . . . appears to be a merchant’s accounting record that lists names, measures, and numbers. “The more we find inscriptions from daily life—versus monumental, state-sponsored texts—the more I think that there were many who knew to read and write during this period, especially simple instructions such as found in this inscription,” [the Bar Ilan University epigrapher] Esther Eshel told the Times of Israel on Wednesday.

The few words were carved in a simple cursive script using a sharp tool such as a nail into a flat chalkstone slab that was likely taken from an ossuary lid. It is written in a recognized formulaic pattern for similar ledgers. For example, one of the more complete lines includes the final letters of the name “Shimon”—a popular Second Temple name—followed by the Hebrew letter mem, which stands for a measure or economic value.

Although the stone is broken, it joins other examples of inscribed ossuary lids that were discovered dating to the same time range to which Eshel dates the letters based on their shape—from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE. It is, however, the first of its kind that was discovered within the confines of ancient Jerusalem.

Read more at Times of Israel

More about: Ancient Israel, Archaeology, Jerusalem

After Taking Steps toward Reconciliation, Turkey Has Again Turned on Israel

“The Israeli government, blinded by Zionist delusions, seizes not only the UN Security Council but all structures whose mission is to protect peace, human rights, freedom of the press, and democracy,” declared the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech on Wednesday. Such over-the-top anti-Israel rhetoric has become par for the course from the Turkish head of state since Hamas’s attack on Israel last year, after which relations between Jerusalem and Ankara have been in what Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak describes as “free fall.”

While Erdogan has always treated Israel with a measure of hostility, the past few years had seen steps to reconciliation. Yanarocak explains this sharp change of direction, which is about much more than the situation in Gaza:

The losses at the March 31, 2024 Turkish municipal elections were an unbearable blow for Erdoğan. . . . In retrospect it appears that Erdoğan’s previous willingness to continue trade relations with Israel pushed some of his once-loyal supporters toward other Islamist political parties, such as the New Welfare Party. To counter this trend, Erdoğan halted trade relations, aiming to neutralize one of the key political tools available to his Islamist rivals.

Unsurprisingly, this decision had a negative impact on Turkish [companies] engaged in trade with Israel. To maintain their long-standing trade relationships, these companies found alternative ways to conduct business through intermediary Mediterranean ports.

The government in Ankara also appears to be concerned about the changing balance of power in the region. The weakening of Iran and Hizballah could create an unfavorable situation for the Assad regime in Syria, [empowering Turkish separatists there]. While Ankara is not fond of the mullahs, its core concern remains Iran’s territorial integrity. From Turkey’s perspective, the disintegration of Iran could set a dangerous precedent for secessionists within its own borders.

Read more at Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security

More about: Iran, Israel diplomacy, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey