TheTel Qasile ostraca are two smallostraca (pottery fragments with writing on them) found atTell Qasile, then part ofMandatory Palestine, in 1945–46. The longer of the two ostraca is known as theBeth-horon sherd, on the basis of a possible reference to the biblical site ofBethoron. The Beth-horon sherd is now at theIsrael Museum in Jerusalem.[1]
The twoinscribed ostraca were found on the surface of the southwestern slope of the hill, separately by Jacob Kaplan and Robert Hoff, prior to anyexcavations. The excavations which subsequently took place between 1948 and 1950 on the same site were carried out in a carefulstratigraphic sequence, but no further inscriptions were found.[2]
The ostraca read:[3]
Both ostraca were in private hands for the first few years after their discovery, as neither finder reported them to thePalestine Department of Antiquities. Having put the Beth-Horon sherd up for sale in 1951, Hoff was threatened with a lawsuit by the Israeli government – he subsequently agreed to sell it to them forIL3,000.[4] As of 2001, the Hiyahu ostracon remained in private hands.[4]
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