A Clay Tablet fragment found in Jerusalem

During the 2009-10 excavations on the Ophel (Eastern Hill of Jerusalem), Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered a small fragment of a cuneiform tablet dated to the Late Bronze Age, roughly 1350 B.C.). The document was written in Akkadian, a Mesopotamian language akin to biblical Hebrew. Interestingly, Akkadian was the international language of the time, used by multiple political powers to correspond to each other. So, why is this important? Well, this little fragment provides the first direct evidence for the scribal use of cuneiform at Jerusalem, which can be added to the evidence from other cities in the region that have recently yielded similar material (Jericho, Hazor, Shechem, Hebron and Gezer, all widely known biblical cities). Before this discovery, we knew little about pre-Israelite Jerusalem. Read the complete article at -- http://lacrossetribune.com/news/opinion/mark-w-chavalas-tablet-fragment-sheds-light-on-history/article_1a1da8a7-f591-502e-9f92-b7ad94791042.html