5485. Hebrew ostracon from Hirbet Qeiyfa (south of Jerusalem). The ostraca is dated between 1,000 and 975 B.C., at the time of King David’s rule in Jerusalem. It is the oldest Hebrew inscription ever found. The text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans which proves that some of the Biblical texts were written at that time and the existence of the Kingdom of Israel in the 10th. C. BC .
Photograph by Zev Radovan