Southern Adventist University’s archaeology team of students and professors, specifically Institute of Archaeology Director Michael G. Hasel, PhD, received international attention stemming from a scientific report published this week in the British journal Levant.
The article describes findings from the ancient Canaanite city of Tel Lachish in Israel, excavated from 2013 to 2017 by a joint project between Southern and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Hasel served as co-director of the expedition.
The team discovered an ancient temple dating back to the 12th century B.C. within a large Late Bronze Age settlement. Among the many artifacts unearthed at the site was a pottery sherd engraved with a Canaanite script of the Hebrew letter “samech,” making it the oldest known example of the letter.
Various Egyptian sources as well as the Bible mention Lachish, which was occupied during the campaigns of Joshua and delivered “into Israel’s hands” (Joshua 10:32). The city was also destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib and the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
Here is a link to the full report.