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: inscription edition and excavation study
Publication: Brill

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

Records informed by this source

date assertion Deir Alla Balaam plaster texts — date assertion
Evidence confidence: moderate
informs · dates · archaeological context and palaeography
Provides initial date.
geography assertion Deir Alla — geography assertion
Evidence confidence: moderate
informs · locates · excavation context and plaster-text edition
Supports identification and archaeological location of Deir Alla; the point is a representative site locator, not an excavation footprint.
relationship Deir Alla — located in — Jordan Valley
Evidence confidence: high
informs · provides archaeological observation · excavation context and plaster-text edition
Supports the site description, phase range, or principal research relevance.
entity Deir Alla
Evidence confidence: high
informs · provides archaeological observation · excavation context and plaster-text edition
Supports the site description, phase range, or principal research relevance.
date assertion Deir Alla — date assertion
informs · provides archaeological observation · excavation context and plaster-text edition
Supports the site description, phase range, or principal research relevance.
date assertion Production and destruction context of the Deir Alla Balaam plaster texts — date assertion
Evidence confidence: high
informs · provides primary evidence · text groups I-II and archaeological context
Primary edition.
event Production and destruction context of the Deir Alla Balaam plaster texts
Evidence confidence: high
informs · provides primary evidence · text groups I-II and archaeological context
Primary edition.
entity Deir Alla Balaam plaster texts
Evidence confidence: high
informs · provides primary evidence · text groups I-II; fragment and line reconstruction
Foundational edition.
claim A single inscription or scribal object demonstrates literacy in a context but does not by itself prove a large centralized state.
Evidence confidence: near certain
informs · provides primary evidence · plaster-text context
Shows regional literary production.