Experts stumped by ancient Jerusalem markings

[Tank]

Experts stumped by ancient Jerusalem markings



In this photo taken on Dec. 1, 2011, Israel's Antiquities Authority archeologist
Eli Shukron sweeps marks carved in the bedrock in an archeological excavation
in the city of David near Jerusalem's Old City. The mysterious stone carvings
made thousands of years ago and recently uncovered in an excavation underneath
Jerusalem have archaeologists stumped. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Israeli diggers who uncovered a complex of rooms carved into the bedrock in the oldest section of the city recently found the markings: Three "V" shapes cut next to each other into the limestone floor of one of the rooms, about 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep and 20 inches (50 centimeters) long. There were no finds to offer any clues pointing to the identity of who made them or what purpose they served.

The archaeologists in charge of the dig know so little that they have been unable even to posit a theory about their nature, said Eli Shukron, one of the two directors of the dig.

"The markings are very strange, and very intriguing. I've never seen anything like them," Shukron said.

One for Too Few Lions to get his teeth into.

[Too Few Lions]

hehe that's a really interesting story, thanks Tank. I'll look forward to seeing what else they find in the excavations, and if they work out what those V-marks might be. It looks like it dates to an interesting period (c 800 BCE or earlier) when the Israelites and Judahites were still polytheistic, and Yahweh was worshipped alongside other similar western Semitic deities like El and Baal. It's also around the time that the earliest books of the Old Testament were possibly first written.

It's ironic that the dig is being funded by a Zionist group, as they might not like what they end up finding!

[Tank]

hehe that's a really interesting story, thanks Tank. I'll look forward to seeing what else they find in the excavations, and if they work out what those V-marks might be. It looks like it dates to an interesting period (c 800 BCE or earlier) when the Israelites and Judahites were still polytheistic, and Yahweh was worshipped alongside other similar western Semitic deities like El and Baal. It's also around the time that the earliest books of the Old Testament were possibly first written.

It's ironic that the dig is being funded by a Zionist group, as they might not like what they end up finding!

Yes the irony was not lost on me

[The Magic Pudding]

Of course I know exactly what those V marks mean but I can't tell you.

I thought the word "stumped" was a cricket thing, I have had to deal with stumps/tree remnants though.

Some authorities have supposed that this derives from the development of the road system in the USA. When these highways were being built the stumps of sawn down trees could be no more than 15 inches tall. This was fine for the high axle wagons until rain softened the soil, at which time wagons would sink into the mud and were 'stumped'. This is a good story, albeit one that doesn't come packaged with any real evidence. Others have suggested that it might be from cricket, in which a batsman is out if the wicketkeeper removes the stumps with the ball when the batsman is out of his ground. This explanation is also lacking supporting evidence and in any case doesn't really match the meaning of the expression.

It is more likely that the term derives from ploughs sticking when they hit tree-stumps. The USA origin is certainly correct though. All of the early citations of the phrase originate from there; for example, Seba Smith's Letters of Major Jack Downing, 1833: