Bronze Age World

Reading ancient testimony

Ask who produced the document, for whom, and for what purpose. Distinguish its ancient creation from its modern edition or translation. Survival and excavation shape what can be read today.

Use the linked edition and reliability notes for the author, audience, transmission and limits of this particular source. Missing information is not an assurance of neutrality.

Document and modern access

Type: journal article and radiocarbon study
Publication: Radiocarbon, vol. 57, no. 2, 217-228

Open DOI or stable record (opens in a new tab)

Records informed by this source

event Production and deposition of the Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon
Evidence confidence: high
informs · dates · occupation radiocarbon context
Dates the archaeological context.
date assertion Production and deposition of the Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon — date assertion
Evidence confidence: high
informs · dates · occupation radiocarbon context
Dates the archaeological context.
date assertion Fortified occupation at Khirbet Qeiyafa — date assertion
Evidence confidence: high
informs · dates · radiocarbon model
Supports this range.
claim Khirbet Qeiyafa's fortified occupation is securely early, but its ancient name and affiliation with Judah, Israel/Saul, Philistia, or a local polity remain contested.
Disputed interpretationConfidence in this assessment: highConfidence in the stated assessment
informs · dates · absolute chronology
Secure occupation range.
claim The Qeiyafa ostracon is direct evidence for early alphabetic writing, but its language, full reading, and legal or literary genre are not settled.
Evidence confidence: very high
informs · dates · occupation context
Separates context date from text decipherment.
entity Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon
Evidence confidence: high
informs · dates · radiocarbon-dated occupation context
Dates the context rather than the sherd directly.
date assertion Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon — date assertion
informs · dates · radiocarbon-dated occupation context
Dates the context rather than the sherd directly.
event Fortified occupation at Khirbet Qeiyafa
Evidence confidence: high
informs · dates · radiocarbon results
Provides preferred absolute range.
date assertion Fortified occupation at Khirbet Qeiyafa — date assertion
Evidence confidence: high
informs · dates · radiocarbon results
Provides preferred absolute range.
geography assertion Khirbet Qeiyafa — geography assertion
Evidence confidence: moderate
informs · locates · radiocarbon sequence
Supports identification and archaeological location of Khirbet Qeiyafa; the point is a representative site locator, not an excavation footprint.
entity Khirbet Qeiyafa
Evidence confidence: moderate
informs · provides archaeological observation · radiocarbon sequence
Supports the site description, phase range, or principal research relevance.
date assertion Khirbet Qeiyafa — date assertion
informs · provides archaeological observation · radiocarbon sequence
Supports the site description, phase range, or principal research relevance.
relationship Khirbet Qeiyafa — located in — Shephelah
Evidence confidence: high
informs · provides archaeological observation · radiocarbon sequence
Supports the site description, phase range, or principal research relevance.