Samaria Ostraca

Samaria Ostraca
Samaria Ostraca
	Sketch of a selection of ostraca
Material	Clay ostraca
Writing	Paleo-Hebrew script
Created	c. 850–750 BC
Discovered	1910
Present location	Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The Samaria Ostraca are 102 ostraca found in 1910 in excavations in ancient Samaria (modern-day Sebastia, Nablus) led by George Andrew Reisner of the Harvard Semitic Museum.^[1] These ostraca were found in the treasury of the palace of Ahab, king of Israel, and probably date about his period, 850–750 BC. Authored by royal scribes, the ostraca primarily record food deliveries, serving an archival function.^[2]

The ostraca are written in the paleo-Hebrew alphabet,^[3] which very closely resemble those of the Siloam Inscription, but show a slight development of the cursive script.^[4] The language is typically seen as a northern Hebrew dialect.^[2]

Of the 102 ostraca found, only 63 are legible.^[1] The primary inscriptions are known as KAI 183–188. They are currently held in the collection of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.^[5]

^ ^a ^b Noegel 2006, p. 396.
^ ^a ^b Suriano, Matthew (2007). "A Fresh Reading for 'Aged Wine' in the Samaria Ostraca". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 139 (1): 27–33. doi:10.1179/003103207x162997. ISSN 0031-0328.
^ Lyon, David G. "Hebrew Ostraca from Samaria", The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan., 1911), pp. 136–143, quote: "The script in which these ostraca are written is the Phoenician, which was widely current in antiquity. It is very different from the so-called square character, in which the existing Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible are written."
^ Suriano, Matthew (March 2007). "A Fresh Reading for 'Aged Wine' in the Samaria Ostraca". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 139 (1): 27–33. doi:10.1179/003103207x162997. ISSN 0031-0328.
^ "The Biblical Archaeologist". 1982.

[FOOTNOTENoegel2006396-1] Noegel 2006, p. 396.

[:2-2] Suriano, Matthew (2007). "A Fresh Reading for 'Aged Wine' in the Samaria Ostraca". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 139 (1): 27–33. doi:10.1179/003103207x162997. ISSN 0031-0328.

[3] Lyon, David G. "Hebrew Ostraca from Samaria", The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan., 1911), pp. 136–143, quote: "The script in which these ostraca are written is the Phoenician, which was widely current in antiquity. It is very different from the so-called square character, in which the existing Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible are written."

[4] Suriano, Matthew (March 2007). "A Fresh Reading for 'Aged Wine' in the Samaria Ostraca". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 139 (1): 27–33. doi:10.1179/003103207x162997. ISSN 0031-0328.

[5] "The Biblical Archaeologist". 1982.

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