500-year-old Chinese inscription uncovered on Mount Zion in Jerusalem
Archaeologists have uncovered a 500-year-old Chinese inscription on a fragment of a blue-and-white porcelain bowl found on Mount Zion, marking the oldest known Chinese inscription discovered in Israel.
The inscription, which reads, “Forever we will guard the eternal spring,” was found during a three-year joint excavation by the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology. Israeli archaeologist Michael Chernin made the discovery this summer.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority press release, "the bowl dates back to 1520-1570, and originated in the Ming Dynasty.”
The bowl is believed to have arrived in Jerusalem during the early years of Ottoman rule, which controlled the region from the 16th to the 20th century.
“According to Ming Dynasty annals, about 20 official Ottoman delegations visited the imperial court in Beijing during the 15th-17th centuries,” the IAA stated, explaining how the bowl might have arrived in the region.
“The writings of the Chinese scholar Ma Li from 1541 note colonies of Chinese merchants in Lebanese coastal cities such as Beirut and Tripoli. The work even mentions other important cities in the region such as Jerusalem, Cairo and Aleppo.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
