Miriam ossuary is a decorated limestone ossuary from a tomb in the Valley of Elah, Israel, which bears an inscription attributing it to "Miriam, the daughter of Yeshua."

History

The Miriam ossuary came to light in June 2011. Archaeologists from Bar-Ilan and Tel Aviv Universities announced that it had been plundered from a tomb in the Valley of Elah. The Israel Antiquities Authority declared it authentic, and expressed regret that it couldn't be studied in situ.[1] It is inscribed with the text: "Miriam, daughter of Yeshua, son of Caiaphas, Priest of Ma’aziah from Beth ‘Imri".[2] Based on it, Caiaphas can be assigned to the priestly course of Ma’aziah, instituted by King David.

The script is formal, in a style common in ossuary inscriptions of the late Second Temple period.[3] Similar glosskamas were found in the Jerusalem area from the second half of the 1st century BC until the destruction of the Second Temple. In Judea, this type of glosskama continued to be common until the Bar Kochba revolt. The researchers dated the glosskama based on the excavation and other findings to approximately 70 AD.

The structure of the glossoma

The glossama is made of Kirton stone, length 46 cm, width 23 cm and height 26 cm. It stands on 4 legs. The front of the glossama is decorated with two circles and in each circle a rosette with six leaves. The circles are surrounded by a rectangular frame. The inscription is carved above the rectangular frame , between it and the lip of the glossama. Another decoration of a circle and a rosette also decorates one narrow side of the glossama. The lid of the glossama is arched. There is an inscription on the glaucoma. The length of the inscription is 35.5 cm, the height of the letters varies between 10-15 cm. The script in which the inscription was written was common at the end of Second Temple period.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Israeli authorities: 2,000-year-old burial box is the real deal". CNN. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  2. ↑ Zissu, Boaz; Goren, Yuval (2011). "The Ossuary of 'Miriam Daughter of Yeshua Son of Caiaphas, Priests [of] Maʿaziah from Beth ʾImri'" (PDF). Israel Exploration Journal. 61 (1): 74–95. JSTOR 23214223.
  3. ↑ The Ossuary of 'Miriam daughter of Yeshua Son of Caiaphas, Priests of Ma'aziah from Beth Imri'
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.