What Are These Strange Markings Found Near Jerusalem’s Gihon Spring?
Archaeologists from the City of David, Jerusalem, want your ideas
The function of these strange, V-shaped markings discovered near the Gihon Spring in the City of David (Jerusalem) has completely baffled archaeologists. Submit your ideas below for what you think they might be.
Rather than remaining secretive and aloof about the puzzling discovery near the Gihon Spring, the archaeologists and the City of David Foundation issued a press release with a rare request to the public for help in identifying these mysterious carvings from the City of David.
The response was overwhelming. Tens of thousands of people took to Facebook and reposted on other social media outlets to offer their suggestions about what the Gihon Spring markings could be—from a torture device or molds for smelting iron to a representation of mountains or the symbol for water.
But the code still hasn’t been cracked. Submit your ideas below and see if you can unlock the mystery of these ancient carvings.
Based on Strata, “Archaeologists Offer Public a Glimpse Behind the Curtain,” Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2012.
Related Posts
Must-Read Free eBooks
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Become an All-Access Member to explore the Bible's rich history. Get Biblical Archaeology Review in print, full online access, and FREE online talks. Plus, enjoy special Travel/Study discounts. Don't miss out—begin your journey today!
Perhaps these are symbols to remind the workers of the planned
direction of the tunnel.
This is the same sign over the tomb of Jesus’ family. I think that it represents a tomb of the Pharisee class. Signed, Dr. Jerry Wayne Bernard
They could be gage settings to make uniform fittings(.ie. angle iron).
Yes, they could be gauge settings for making uniform fittings. But why not simply label the first one they made as the “pattern” and make the rest exact copies?
Binni (response 17): Not poured metal molds but molds for the wax form used in the LOST WAX PROCESS. Our plasterer’s sprayed a light coat of oil into their decorative molds before they poured plaster into them. The oil acted as an interface and kept the two materials separated allowing for easy removal from the mold. I wonder if Olive Oil would act the same way if Bee’s Wax was used to make a form of the object?
It looks like an anchor to bedrock for either a column or a table that they did not want to move laterally. The points of each triangle form the three points required to hold up a plane, and it would have provided a sturdy fix to the bedrock.
To Binni .. yes I was thinking the base of a pulley system used to carry large vessels of water to The Temple at the top.
I do not think it is any of those things on this post. Looks to be only words evolving Archaic Greek language system that would evolve into another subset such as Greek and Etruscan. The UL means to bend or fall the last letter is an iffy letter G. The only logical came out of two brackets meaning damaged or missing text. (https://sloveneti.tripod.com/veg/e/Etr/EtrLang-Intro_e.html ) Every language has rules to follow. My opinion would be there was not enough single vertical slab rock to finish the sentence structure. Anymore about this would be only hearsay.
cuniforum markings
I see four pieces of an assembly.
the central pieces is the one with portrutions on it and if you look, a joining bar or member.
the outer piece the one with the unequal legs (lower left) might fit on top of the central on the protrution side, the other piece would fit on the flat side of the centra piece and the small bar fit over the joining bar of the central.
without anything to judge its size, it might be a fancy curtain hook with all the pieces making a pleat for a curtain