Persian potsherd, on top 10 discovery list

The Archeology Magazine has listed an inscribed piece of Persian pottery as one of the most exciting discoveries of the year 2009.

The potsherd, which bears a black Persian inscription belonging to the 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam, was found during excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem (Al-Quds).

Found by an archeology team from the Israel Antiquities Authority, the artifact is treated with a turquoise glaze and adorned with floral patterns.

The piece dates back to the 12th-13th centuries CE and its black inscription makes it the first of its kind to have been found in Jerusalem(Al-Quds).

The inscription was translated by Dr. Julia Rabanovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as, "Was once the embrace of a lover that entreat."

According to Rivka Cohen-Amin of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the line belongs to The Rubaiyat, a collection of quatrains (four-line poems) by Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer, Omar Khayyam.

Lord of Ucupe (Peru), first domesticated horses (Kazakhstan), early irrigators (US), Anglo-Saxon hoard (the UK), Popol Vuh relief (Guatemala), world's first zoo (Egypt), Iron Age priestesses (Crete), earliest chemical warfare (Syria) and palace of Mithradates (Russia) are the other exciting discoveries selected by The Archeology Magazine.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114836§ionid=351020105.