Israel Unveils ‘Extremely Rare’ Iron Age Papyrus Note

An Israel Antiquities Authority conservator views under a magnifying glass the papyrus fragment at its conservation lab in Jerusalem MENAHEM KAHANA AFP
An Israel Antiquities Authority conservator views under a magnifying glass the papyrus fragment at its conservation lab in Jerusalem MENAHEM KAHANA AFP
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Israel Unveils ‘Extremely Rare’ Iron Age Papyrus Note

An Israel Antiquities Authority conservator views under a magnifying glass the papyrus fragment at its conservation lab in Jerusalem MENAHEM KAHANA AFP
An Israel Antiquities Authority conservator views under a magnifying glass the papyrus fragment at its conservation lab in Jerusalem MENAHEM KAHANA AFP

Israel's Antiquities Authority displayed Wednesday a rare papyrus note in ancient Hebrew dating back 2,700 years, recently brought back to Jerusalem after its chance discovery in the United States.

The letter fragment, written in the Palaeo-Hebrew used during the First Temple era, constitutes four lines beginning "To Ishmael send", with the rest of the words incomplete.

"We don’t know exactly what was being sent and to where," said Joe Uziel, director of the antiquities authority's Judaean Desert scrolls unit, AFP reported.

In the Iron Age, Hebrews used clay fragments to scrawl short notes and animal hide for scriptures, with papyrus reserved for official correspondence, said Eitan Klein, deputy director of the authority's antiquities theft prevention unit.

Papyruses left in the dry climate of the Judaean desert could have survived the ages, but there were only two other papyruses from the First Temple era known to researchers before the latest discovery, Klein said.

"This papyrus is unique, extremely rare," he said.

Ahituv was surprised to see in the book's draft a picture of the "To Ishmael" papyrus, which he had not been familiar with.

He contacted Klein, and with the help of Yardeni's daughter, managed to locate the US academic who had connected Yardeni to the owner of the fragment -- a man in Montana.

The owner had inherited the papyrus from his late mother, who in 1965 purchased or received it as a gift from Joseph Saad, curator of the then Palestine Archaeological Museum.

Saad had obtained it from legendary Bethlehem antiquities dealer Halil Iskander Kandu, who Klein said had most likely bought it from Bedouin who found it in a Judaean Desert cave.

Back in the United States, the woman had framed the papyrus below a picture of Saad and Kandu, and hung it in her home.

Klein invited the Montanan to visit Israel in 2019, showing him the Antiquities Authority's facilities to persuade him that the rare artefact would be preserved best there.

"He was convinced, and at the end of his visit, left the papyrus with us," Klein said, without providing further details on the man or process.

The authenticity and age of the artefact were determined using palaeographic and carbon-14 dating, Uziel said, noting researchers' apprehension about removing the papyrus from the back of the frame.

"She used adhesive glue and glued it and then framed it," he said. "Removing it will actually cause further damage to the papyrus."

To Uziel, any discovery of an artefact "is really a high," but "when we come to the written word, it's another level."

"We actually can make a much closer connection to the people living in the past," he said.



Drought Has Dried Major Amazon River Tributary to Lowest Level in over 122 Years

 A part of the Negro River is dry at the port in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, amid severe drought. (AP)
A part of the Negro River is dry at the port in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, amid severe drought. (AP)
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Drought Has Dried Major Amazon River Tributary to Lowest Level in over 122 Years

 A part of the Negro River is dry at the port in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, amid severe drought. (AP)
A part of the Negro River is dry at the port in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, amid severe drought. (AP)

One of the Amazon River's main tributaries has dropped to its lowest level ever recorded, Brazil's geological service said Friday, reflecting a severe drought that has devastated the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the country.

The level of the Negro River at the port of Manaus was at 12.66 meters on Friday, as compared with a normal level of about 21 meters. It is the lowest since measurements started 122 years ago.

The previous record low level was recorded last year, but toward the end of October.

The Negro River's water level might drop even more in coming weeks based on forecasts for low rainfall in upstream regions, according to the geological service's predictions.

Andre Martinelli, the agency's hydrology manager in Manaus, was quoted as saying the river was expected to continue receding until the end of the month.

Water levels in Brazil's Amazon always rise and fall with its rainy and dry seasons, but the dry portion of this year has been much worse than usual.

All of the major rivers in the Amazon basin are at critical levels, including the Madeira River, the Amazon River's longest tributary.

The Negro River drains about 10% of the Amazon basin and is the world's sixth-largest by water volume. Manaus, the biggest city in the rainforest, is where the Negro joins the Amazon River.

For locals, the drought has made basic daily activities impossible. Gracita Barbosa, 28, works as a cashier on a floating shop on the Negro River.

She's out of work because boats that once stopped there can no longer navigate the river due to the low water levels.

Barbosa can no longer bathe in the river and now has to travel longer distances to collect drinking water.