WOW. What a find! Archaeologists unveiled the earliest known inscription of Jerusalem in Hebrew on a 2,000-year-old column at The Israel Museum. From The Jerusalem Post:
The words: “Hanania son of Dudolos from Jerusalem” was etched on the column which was part of a building that stood in a Jewish potters village near the entrance of the Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.Prior to this discovery, the city’s name was written as Yerushalem or Shalem in Hebrew, this inscription was the first time the city was written as Yerushalayim in Hebrew characters.The word Jerusalem was found on silver coins dating before the time of this column, but they were written in Aramaic.Details of who Hanania was and why he etched his name and Jerusalem on the column are yet to be uncovered, however what can be confirmed is that he was Jewish and that he was connected to artisanship.According to Dudy Mevorach, Chief Curator of Archaeology at the Israel Museum, “It is likely that he (Hanania) was an artisan or the son of an artisan.”Mevorach also noted that Dudolos was not his father and was more of an homage to the mythical Greek artist, Dudolos and shows how the Jews of that time were influenced by Greek culture under Alexander the Great.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY