Israeli Dig May Unearth Royal Archives New Light May Be Shed On Biblical Life

Multiplication tables inscribed on a chip of reddish clay more than 3,000 years old may be the tip of a treasure-trove of documents describing life in the times of the biblical patriarchs.

Four palm-sized clay tablets inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform have been found at the excavation site of the ancient city of Hazor, referred to in the biblical book of Joshua as one of the great Canaanite kingdoms.

Hebrew University professor Amnon BenTor, head of the excavation, said Monday that the tablets and other evidence point to the existence of two royal archives at the site in as-yet-unexcavated palace rooms.

The discovery of such archives would be unprecedented in the Holy Land and would provide a wealth of information about life in the Canaanite period, which lasted from the 18th to 13th century B.C.

The tablets discovered so far are “in my opinion the most important of all documents found in this country,” Ben-Tor said.

The find was revealed in the Israeli press only Friday, and other archaeologists have had little chance to evaluate the discovery.

At the least, the tablets apparently are far older than the famed Dead Sea scrolls - ancient leather and papyrus scrolls dating back to the 1st century B.C. found in caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. They addressed mainly religious themes.

Dozens of archaeologists and volunteers are at work at the northern Israel site of the new find, about nine miles north of the Sea of Galilee, scraping and sifting dirt and ash in oven-like summer heat.

The dig is uncovering layers of civilization at Hazor, first settled in the 27th century B.C.

By the 18th century B.C. - around the time of Abraham - the city, located along the major trade route between Egypt and Babylon, had become a major center for commerce in tin, silver, gold, and precious stones. “It was the biggest city in this country,” Ben-Tor said.

The dig has uncovered the two-yard wide bases of stone pillars in the throne room, and a layer of ash that Ben-Tor believes is the remains of a wood parquet floor. The palace was destroyed when the city was burned in about 1,250 B.C., a date researchers believe corresponds to the biblical account of Joshua burning down Hazor in battle.