Joseph A. Callaway

Ahilud’s jar handle. The first three letters of the name Ahilud were inscribed on this storage jar handle in the 11th century B.C. Reading from top to bottom are alef (A), het (H) and lamed (L), in one of the earliest Hebrew scripts. The final letter, dalet (D), can be assumed because contemporaneous references to an Ahilud appear in the Bible, in 2 Samuel 8:16 and 20:24. This jar handle, found in a Raddana house we now call “Ahilud’s house,” was the only artifact uncovered at either Ai or Raddana that was inscribed with a name.