 IAA Number: 2015-209
 | Object's Name: Ostracon Inscribed, Aramaic
Period: Hellenistic
Material: Pottery
Site: Maresha, T.
Lenght: 6.8 cm
Wide: 4 cm
Description: Reading:
1. ] מאתכה יתב
2. ] ושלם הוא והן
3. ]מחר ואחרן
4.מטה חדו ברעוה
1. from you, (he) dwell/settle [...]
2. and complete it (?). And if [...]
3. tomorrow (?). Another one [...]
4. rejoice in pleasure [...]
This fragmantary text was part of a letter. The right side did not
survive, as well as its beginning and end.
ושלם הו- this combination is well attested, especially as greeting in
letters.
אחרן- The meaning is 'another one', beginning of a new subject
('another matter'). Term that was mainly used in 1st century CE
ostraca.
The ostracon is dated to the 3rd or 2nd centuries BCE.
Bibliography: Eshel E. 2014. "Iron age, Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions" in: I. Stern (ed.) The Excavations of Maresha: Subterranean Complex 57: The 'Heliodorus' Cave. BAR (IS) 2652: 77- 94, Fig. 8. 38.
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