list of artifacts significant to the bible
selected artifacts significant to biblical chronology
Table:
Name

Image

Current Location

Discovered

Date

Writing

Significance

Refs

Autobiography of Weni

Cairo Museum

1880, Abydos

c.2280 BC

Egyptian hieroglyphs

Records the earliest known Egyptian military campaigns in Sinai and the Levant.

ANET 227-228

Sebek-khu Stele

Manchester Museum

1901, Abydos

c.1860 BC

Egyptian hieroglyphs

Records the earliest known Egyptian military campaign in Retjenu, including Sekmem (s-k-m-m, thought to be Shechem).

ANET 230

Merneptah Stele

Cairo Museum

1896, Thebes

c. 1209 BC

Egyptian hieroglyphs

While alternative translations have been put forward, the majority of biblical archeologists translate a set of hieroglyphs on Line 27 as "Israel", such that it represents the first documented instance of the name Israel in the historical record, and the only record in Ancient Egypt.

COS 2.6 / ANET 376-378 / EP[3]

Bubastite Portal

Original location

1828, Karnak

c. 925 BC

Egyptian hieroglyphs

Records the conquests and military campaigns in c.925 BCE of Shoshenq I, of the Twenty-second Dynasty, identified with the biblical Shishaq. Towns identified include Rafah (rph), Megiddo (mkdi) and Ajalon (iywrn)

ANET 242-243

Mesha stele

Louvre

1868, Dhiban, Jordan

c.850 BC

Moabite language

Describing the victories of Moabite king Mesha over the House of Omri. Possible reference to the House of David; also mentions Yahweh, Bezer and others. One of the only two known artifacts containing the "Moabite" dialect of Canaanite languages (the second is the El-Kerak Inscription)

COS 2.23 / ANET 320-321

Kurkh Monoliths

British Museum

1861, Üçtepe, Bismil

c.850 BC

Assyrian cuneiform

The description contains the name "A-ha-ab-bu Sir-ila-a-a" which was proposed to be a reference to Ahab of Israel. Although scholars have disputed the translation, it is significant as the only possible known reference to the term "Israel" in Assyrian and Babylonian records.

COS 2.113A / ANET 277-278 / EP[4]

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

British Museum

1846, Nimrud

c.825 BC

Assyrian cuneiform

Contains what is thought to be the earliest known picture of a biblical figure: possibly Jehu son Omri (mIa-ú-a mar mHu-um-ri-i), or Jehu's ambassador, kneeling at the feet of Shalmaneser III.

COS 2.113F / ANET 278-281

Saba'a Stele

Istanbul Archaeology Museums

1905, Saba'a

c.800 BC

Assyrian cuneiform

Records Adad-Nirari III's Assyrian campaign to Pa-la-áš-tu

COS 2.114E / ANET 282 / EP[5]

Tel Dan Stele

Israel Museum

1993, Tel Dan

c.800 BC

Old Aramaic

Claimed by a number of scholars that the inscription contains the phrase House of David although others dispute this

EP[6]

Nimrud Slab

Unknown

1854, Nimrud

c.800 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes Adad-nirari III's early Assyrian conquests in Palastu.

COS 2.114G

Nimrud Tablet K.3751

British Museum

c.1850, Library of Ashurbanipal

c.733 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes Tiglath-Pileser III's (745 to 727 BC) campaigns to the region, including the first known archeological reference to Judah (Yaudaya or KUR.ia-ú-da-a-a).

COS 2.117 / ANET 282-284

Sargon II's Prism A

N.A.

British Museum

c.1850, Library of Ashurbanipal

c.710 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes Sargon II's (722 to 705 BC) campaigns to Palastu

COS 2.118i / ANET 287

Siloam inscription

Istanbul Archaeology Museum

1880, Hezekiah's Tunnel

c.701 BC

Phoenician alphabet

Records the construction of Hezekiah's tunnel

COS 2.28 / ANET 321

Lachish relief

British Museum

1845, Nineveh

c.700 BC

Assyrian cuneiform

Portion of the Sennacherib relief, which depicts captives from Judah being led into captivity after the Siege of Lachish in 701 BC

COS 2.119C / EP[7]

LMLK seals

Various

1870 onwards

c.700 BC

Phoenician alphabet

c.2,000 stamp impressions, thought to be an acronym for "belonging to the King"

COS 2.77 / EP[8]

Azekah Inscription

British Museum

c.1850, Library of Ashurbanipal

c.700 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes an Assyrian campaign by Sennacherib against Hezekiah, King of Judah, including the conquest of Azekah.

COS 2.119D

Sennacherib's Annals

British Museum, Oriental Institute of Chicago, and the Israel Museum

1830, likely Nineveh, unprovenanced

c.690 BC

Assyrian cuneiform

Describes the Assyrian king Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC during the reign of king Hezekiah.

COS 2.119B / ANET 287-288

Esarhaddon's Treaty with Ba'al of Tyre

British Museum

c.1850, Library of Ashurbanipal

c.675 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes a treaty between Esarhaddon (reigned 681 to 669 BC) and Ba'al of Tyre with respect to pi-lis-te

COS 2.120 / ANET 533

Cylinders of Nabonidus

British Museum and Pergamon Museum

1854, Ur

c.550 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes Belshazzar (Balthazar) as Nabonidus' eldest son

COS 2.123A

Cylinder of Cyrus

British Museum

1879, Babylon

c.530 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

King Cyrus's treatment of religion, which is significant to the books of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah.

COS 2.124 / ANET 315-316

Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle

N.A.

British Museum

1896 (acquired), unprovenanced

c.250 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes Nebuchadnezzar's first siege of a city of Jerusalem in 597 BCE, thought to be the Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)

COS 1.137 / ANET 301-307

Nabonidus Chronicle

British Museum

1879 (acquired), Sippar, unprovenanced

c.250 BC

Akkadian cuneiform

Describes the conquest of Babylon by the Persian king Cyrus the Great

COS 1.137 / ANET 301-307 / EP[9]

In the table of the article 'list of artifacts significant to the bible' – see 'selected artifacts significant to biblical chronology', assign the correct type(s) to the highlighted column among these candidate types: basketball.basketball_team, location.in_state, people.family_member, royalty.monarch, soccer.fifa, astronomy.asteroid, fictional_universe.fictional_character, people.ethnicity, business.business_operation, cricket.cricket_team, time.recurring_event, spaceflight.astronaut, film.film_genre, medicine.drug, royalty.kingdom, government.election, internet.website_owner, amusement_parks.ride, location.jp_prefecture, music.lyricist, fictional_universe.fictional_organization, military.military_unit, american_football.football_player, religion.religion, sports.boxer, tv.tv_series_season, law.court, education.educational_degree, government.election_campaign, location.uk_constituent_country, book.newspaper, sports.school_sports_team, medicine.anatomical_structure, film.director, sports.sports_league_draft, basketball.basketball_coach, military.rank, food.food, location.australian_state, baseball.baseball_league, geography.mountain, broadcast.genre, astronomy.constellation, chess.chess_player, automotive.company, exhibitions.exhibition_sponsor, music.composer, metropolitan_transit.transit_system, film.producer, sports.sport, travel.accommodation, astronomy.orbital_relationship, business.product_category, broadcast.broadcast, tv.tv_program, book.periodical_publisher, business.customer, aviation.airline, military.military_person, location.capital_of_administrative_division, soccer.football_world_cup, soccer.football_award, broadcast.tv_station, internet.website, award.award_discipline, aviation.aircraft_owner, book.written_work, education.field_of_study, education.educational_institution, cvg.cvg_developer, cvg.computer_videogame, location.province, military.military_conflict, american_football.football_coach, education.fraternity_sorority, sports.professional_sports_team, cricket.cricket_player, government.governmental_body, visual_art.visual_artist, basketball.basketball_position, basketball.basketball_conference, government.us_president, education.university, film.film_distributor, tv.tv_program_creator, tv.tv_actor, broadcast.artist, automotive.model, medicine.disease, organization.organization, aviation.airport, location.us_county, music.producer, award.award, award.award_ceremony, military.armed_force, tv.tv_producer, religion.religious_leader, film.production_company, celebrities.celebrity, royalty.noble_title, architecture.venue, people.person, music.artist, government.government_agency, education.school, tv.tv_director, cvg.cvg_platform, olympics.olympic_event_competition, sports.sports_championship, organization.membership_organization, baseball.baseball_position, award.award_presenting_organization, sports.multi_event_tournament, location.citytown, government.u_s_congressperson, time.event, chemistry.chemical_compound, sports.tournament_event_competition, location.australian_local_government_area, ice_hockey.hockey_player, organization.non_profit_organization, sports.golfer, book.magazine, metropolitan_transit.transit_stop, martial_arts.martial_artist, tv.tv_writer, medicine.medical_treatment, cvg.cvg_publisher, soccer.football_league_season, business.job_title, soccer.football_team, music.music_video_director, sports.sports_award_winner, music.group_member, chemistry.chemical_element, ice_hockey.hockey_team, biology.organism_classification, boats.ship_type, government.government_office_or_title, tv.tv_character, government.general_election, soccer.football_player, theater.theater_actor, royalty.chivalric_order_member, music.album, award.competition, soccer.football_position, film.writer, sports.sports_position, sports.sports_team, cvg.cvg_genre, architecture.building, tv.tv_network, rail.locomotive_class, medicine.muscle, music.genre, protected_sites.listed_site, computer.software, ice_hockey.hockey_position, tv.tv_series_episode, aviation.aircraft_model, location.us_state, business.industry, location.in_district, broadcast.radio_format, tv.tv_personality, computer.computer, government.politician, computer.operating_system, olympics.olympic_games, music.media_format, location.location, business.consumer_company, sports.sports_championship_event, baseball.baseball_team, book.periodical_subject, transportation.road, music.record_label, government.political_party, baseball.baseball_player, tennis.tennis_tournament_champion, law.invention, location.hud_county_place, book.author, soccer.football_league, education.athletics_brand, meteorology.tropical_cyclone_season, music.composition, cricket.cricket_stadium, music.musical_scale, theater.play, biology.animal, astronomy.star_system_body, award.award_category, meteorology.tropical_cyclone, biology.organism, sports.sports_facility, law.legal_case, royalty.noble_person, business.defunct_company, music.writer, geography.island, amusement_parks.park, soccer.football_team_manager, sports.sports_league_season, film.film_festival_focus, film.film, sports.pro_athlete, media_common.media_genre, broadcast.tv_channel, music.instrument, comic_books.comic_book_character, music.musical_group, computer.software_license, metropolitan_transit.transit_line, location.administrative_division, location.country, award.hall_of_fame_inductee, book.book, location.region, basketball.basketball_player, cricket.cricket_bowler, film.music_contributor, medicine.drug_ingredient, sports.sports_award_type, government.legislative_session, film.film_character, language.human_language, tennis.tennis_tournament, interests.collection_category, tennis.tennis_player, architecture.architectural_structure_owner, award.recurring_competition, american_football.football_conference, broadcast.radio_station, tv.tv_genre, american_football.football_team, geography.river, boats.ship, astronomy.astronomical_discovery, finance.currency, film.actor, business.brand, sports.cyclist, geography.body_of_water, location.uk_statistical_location, sports.sports_league, military.military_post, architecture.structure, music.performance_role, book.periodical, boats.ship_class, astronomy.celestial_object, business.consumer_product. Give your final answer with the correct type(s), comma-separated if there are multiple, in the list of the following object {"answer": ["ANSWER"]}.

{"answer": ["location.location"]}