Israel Unveils ‘Extremely Rare’ Iron Age Papyrus Note

An Israel Antiquities Authority conservator views under a magnifying glass the papyrus fragment at its conservation lab in Jerusalem MENAHEM KAHANA AFP

Israel's Antiquities Authority displayed Wednesday a rare papyrus note in ancient Hebrew dating back 2,700 years, recently brought back to Jerusalem after its chance discovery in the United States.

The letter fragment, written in the Palaeo-Hebrew used during the First Temple era, constitutes four lines beginning "To Ishmael send", with the rest of the words incomplete.