Jews have lived in the land of Israel for thousands of years. They faced several forced expulsions, the most recent lasting nearly 2,000 years. Even throughout that time, Jews lived in the Levant continuously, albeit in much reduced numbers.
Two stories appeared this week in the press about archeological discoveries in Israel.
In December 2012, archeologists found remnants of an earthenware jug with non-Hebrew lettering etched into its top. The find was made public this week. It is the “earliest alphabetical written text” ever to be discovered in Jerusalem. The artifact dates back to the 10th century BCE, or around 3,000 years ago. The letters are of an unknown Canaanite language. The writing has been deciphered to be a series of letters but researchers are unable to understand their significance. The find predates the earliest Hebrew writing discovered in the area by about two-and-a-half centuries.
The piece was discovered around the southern wall of the Temple Mount.
One day earlier, the paws of an ancient Sphinx were discovered in Israel. The piece was found at the archaeological site of Hazor in Northern Israel. The feet date to the third millennium BCE. Hazor is understood to have been the capitol city — both the largest and most important — in Canaan during the second millennium BCE.
Researchers believe that the Sphinx was either brought to the area during the 17th-16 centuries BCE when a Canaanite tribe ruled Egypt or during the 15th-13th centuries BCE when Egyptians ruled Canaan.
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