Authenticity Of Ancient Tablet Is Explored

Israeli researchers are trying to determine whether a stone tablet that supposedly dates back nearly 3,000 years is proof of Jewish claims to Jerusalem’s Old City or is a fraud. The tablet, which experts from the Infrastructure Ministry’s Geology Survey have authenticated, contains 10 lines written in ancient Phoenician script detailing "house repairs" on the ancient Temple in Jerusalem ordered by Jehoash, the king of Judah at the end of the ninth century BCE. The inscription resembles descriptions in the biblical Book of Kings, supporting Jewish claims to the Temple Mount area disputed by Palestinian Arabs. The tablet was discovered on the Temple Mount during excavations carried out in the last few years by Muslim administrators, but its exact origin is unclear, Haaretz reported.