Archaeologists have unearthed an extraordinary Assyrian inscription from the First Temple period in Jerusalem—the first of its kind to be discovered in the city. The tiny fragment of pottery, just 2.5 centimeters in diameter and inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform, was discovered close to the Temple Mount’s Western Wall in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the City of David Foundation.
Dating to about 2,700 years ago, the inscription likely formed part of a royal seal impression on an official dispatch sent from the Assyrian royal court to the Kingdom of Judah. Scholars believe it may refer to a delay in the payment of tribute, possibly connected with a time of tension or rebellion as described in the Bible when King Hezekiah rebelled against Assyrian rule.
The fragment was recovered through wet sifting at Jerusalem’s Davidson Archaeological Park to ensure its authenticity. According to the research team, this is direct evidence of correspondence between Assyria, the ancient Near Eastern dominant power, and Judah, a former vassal state. The document includes a date (“the first of the month of Av”) and mentions a “chariot officer,” a royal courier whose responsibility was to deliver official messages.
The soil layer containing the inscription was taken from Second Temple period deposits from Jerusalem’s ancient drainage canal. Archaeologists believe it originated from the collapse of an older First Temple structure, near one of the closest known sites west of the Temple Mount with remains from that era.
Petrographic analysis revealed that the clay was not local but came from the Tigris Basin region—home to Assyria’s major cities of Nineveh, Ashur, and Nimrud (Kalḫu). This proves that the document was produced in an Assyrian administrative center and sent to Jerusalem. A chemical study by the Geological Survey of Israel is underway to identify its exact origin.
Although the text is incomplete, scholars have interpreted it as evidence of political tensions between Judah and the Assyrian Empire, possibly over missed tribute payments. The discovery sheds light on the extent of Assyrian power in Jerusalem and the mechanisms of imperial communication during the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE.
The find attests to Jerusalem’s importance as an administrative and political hub even under imperial control. It is evidence of the city’s incorporation into the international system of the time, where letters, seals, and tax documents circulated between the world’s most powerful empire and its western vassal.
The inscription will be presented to the public on October 23 at the “New Discoveries in Jerusalem and Environs” Conference.
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