TheMediaLine
WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO CHANGE THE MISINFORMATION
about the
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR?
Hiker in Southern Israel Finds 2,500-year-old Potsherd Bearing Persian King’s Name
The Darius inscription. (Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority)

Hiker in Southern Israel Finds 2,500-year-old Potsherd Bearing Persian King’s Name

A 2,500-year-old potsherd found by visitors at Tel Lachish National Park in southern Israel bears the inscription of name of the Persian king Darius the Great, the father of King Ahasuerus, one of the main characters of the Book of Esther, which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim, beginning this year at sundown on March 6. The artifact was found by the international media advisor to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Eylon Levy, several months ago and announced on Wednesday by the Israel Antiquities Authority after work to verify its authenticity. The inscription reads “Year 24 of Darius,” which dates to 498 BCE. The king’s reign began in 522 BCE and ended in 486 BCE. “When I picked up the ostracon and saw the inscription, my hands shook,” Levy said. “I looked left and right for the cameras, because I was sure someone was playing an elaborate prank on me.” According to archeologists, excavations by the British at Tel Lachish in the 1930s uncovered an elaborate administrative building from the Persian period, built on top of the podium of the destroyed palace-fort of the Judean kings. The inscribed ostracon, or potsherd, discovered in the area of the Persian building, may have been an administrative note, akin to a receipt for goods or for their dispatchment.

TheMediaLine
WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO CHANGE THE MISINFORMATION
about the
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR?
Personalize Your News
Upgrade your experience by choosing the categories that matter most to you.
Click on the icon to add the category to your Personalize news
Browse Categories and Topics