Image Details
Gerrit Van Der Kooij
Bright red and black letters painted on plaster wall fragments relate a 2,600-year old religious text. Shown here soon after they were excavated, the fragments have been reassembled and strengthened on the back with paraffin wax.
Most of the text of the inscription was written in black ink, with red ink reserved for titles, important passages and straight lines that framed the top and left edge of each column of text. Part of a horizontal line of one such frame can be seen here.
One sentence partially seen here in the top line of text begins “The gods came to him at night.” The scribe forgot to write the word for “to him,” and so added it above the line.