Archaeologists Find Document in Jerusalem; Oldest Document Ever Found in Holy City

A tiny clay fragment dating back to the 14th century BC -- discovered recently during excavations in Jerusalem -- contains the oldest written document ever found in the Holy City, the Earth Times website reports today (July 13, 2010).

The find -- uncovered outside Jerusalem's Old City walls -- is thought to be part of a tablet from a royal archive, and further testifies to the importance of Jerusalem as a major city in the Late Bronze Age.

It contains cuneiform symbols in ancient Akkadian -- the bridge language of that era.

The tablet is believed to be a contemporary of some 380 tablets discovered in the 19th century at Amarna in Egypt in the archives of Pharaoh Amenhotep (Akkenaten), who lived in the 14th century BC.