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Zeta Abjad Inscription - Canaanite-Phoenician Alphabet

This inscription was discovered in 2005 during excavations at the site of Khirbet Zeta Al-Kharab, southwest of Jerusalem in the Lowlands region. The site is located approximately 30 km east of Ashkelon (Asqalan) and one and a half kilometers south of the Palestinian village of Zeta, which was displaced in 1948. The inscription is carved on a limestone rock on a wall and dates back to the 10th century BCE. It features a form of the Canaanite-Phoenician alphabet.

The inscription comprises an alphabetical arrangement in two lines:

The inscription includes a Canaanite alphabetical arrangement consisting of two lines:

First line: Aleph, Baa', Jeem, Daal, Haa', Waw, Zayn, Haa', Taa’, Yaa', Kaaf, Laam, Meem, Noon, Haa', Waw, Yaa', Seen, Faa’, Ayn, and Saad.

Second line: Qaaf, Raa', Sheen, and Taa’.

It is read horizontally from the top right to the left. These inscriptions were possibly used for educational purposes, as they were found on the wall of a house.